Pink Fairies - Never Never Land

Pink Fairies were formed when the three musicians from The Deviants, having fired their singer Mick Farren, returned from a disastrous tour of the West Coast of North America and hooked up with Twink, formerly of the Pretty Things. These musicians had previously collaborated on Twink's Think Pink prior to the tour, and during the tour Twink, Farren and Steve Peregrin Took had used the The Pink Fairies Motorcycle Club and All-Star Rock and Roll Band name, taken from a story written by Jamie Mandelkau, as an umbrella for their activities, including one gig in Manchester.

They released 3 albums during the early 70’s, and while their true swan song, Kings Of Oblivion, is usually cited as their masterpiece, Never Never Land is nothing less than stellar. It kicks off with the misleading Do It. The album version of this tune begins with an acoustic intro than blasts into a hard punk rocker that should really be a classic radio anthem. War Girl engages in some cosmic blues rock soul with some fantastic wah-wah and a great spacey atmosphere. Say You Love Me and Teenage Rebel are more proto-punk/power pop highlights that show off the bands impressive instrumental chops which were honed at countless outside festivals. Surprisingly, Heavenly Man recalls early 70’s Pink Floyd, with slow profound drumming, dazed vocals and David Gilmour style guitar flourishes.

The band’s sound was a combination of the progressive rock scene, the earlier psychedelic revolution, proto-punk/garage rock roots, a small hint of politics, and good ole fashioned rock n roll. All these elements make the 10 minutes of Uncle Harry’s Last Freakout a joy to listen to. This is an undeniably great album from an unsung band. Never Never Land shows a vital band fighting for its life, creating some of the hardest outdoor festival music of the time. Anyone into the early Flamin’ Groovies, the Stooges, MC5, the Coloured Balls, or the Amboy Dukes should do themselves a favor and give this a listen.

Year of Release: 1971
Label: Polydor Records
Genre: Psychedelic/Garage
Bitrate: 320kbps

Track List:
1. Do It
2. Heavenly Man
3. Say You Love Me
4. War Girl
5. Never Never Land
6. Track One, Side Two
7. Thor
8. Teenage Rebel
9. Uncle Harry's Last Freak-Out
10. The Dream Is Just Beginning

Download: Pink Fairies - Never Never Land
File Size: 107MB

Video of the Week: The Cramps - Tear It Up - Urgh! A Music War

The Cramps - Tear It Up

Lux Interior's stage presence can be described in many ways.. electrifying, comical, or even disturbing. You can rest assured that it will never be described as dull though. This particular performance from Urgh! A Music War is one of the best that I've seen. Rather than spoil the interesting parts, I'll just let the video speak for itself.

Urgh! A Music War is a British film released in 1981. It featured performances by punk rock, New Wave, and post-punk acts, filmed in 1980. All performances are live, recorded around 1980, mainly in England and the USA. There is a bit of controversy surrounding the film, concerning the rights of the movie, and the possibility of a DVD release. You can read more about the film, and the surrounding controversy below.

Wikipedia Article
View More Videos From Urgh! A Music War

Bernard Hermmann - The Day The Earth Stood Still OST

The Day the Earth Stood Still is a 1951 black-and-white science fiction film that tells the story of a humanoid alien who comes to Earth to warn its leaders not to take their conflicts into space, or they will face devastating consequences. Produced in the aftermath of World War II, the start of the Cold War, and the development and use of the first atomic bombs, the film strongly and iconically addresses issues of violence, politics, and the fear of global annihilation.

The score was composed by Bernard Herrmann and is notable for its use of two theremins. The soundtrack was composed in August of 1951 and was Bernard Herrmann's first soundtrack after he moved to Hollywood. Herrmann chose unusual instrumentation the film including electric violin, electric bass, two theremin fully electronic instrument: (played by Dr Samuel Hoffman and Paul Shure), test oscillators, vibraphone, four pianos, four harps and approximately 30 brass instruments. Unusual overdubbing and tape-reversal techniques were used, as well. - Source

Year of Release: 1951
Label: Fox
Genre: Soundtrack, Movie Score, Experimental
Bitrate: 192kbps

Download: Bernard Hermmann - The Day The Earth Stood Still OST
File Size: 78MB
Movie Download: Torrent File

Mort Garson - The Wozard of Iz: An Electronic Odyssey

One of the strangest albums I have ever had the pleasure of listening toSome of you may or may not be familiar with the late Mort Garson. He recently passed away in January of this year. Garson was perhaps best remembered as a pioneer of electronic music using Moog synthesizers. Although his electronic albums are considered his greatest output, he was also an accomplished composer, arranger, orchestrator, conductor, and pianist.

In 1967 Garson started working on The Zodiac: Cosmic Sounds. This would be the first of many electronic psychedelic masterpieces. In 1968 Garson collaborated with Jacques Wilson to create one of the trippiest albums ever released. The album was written by Wilson, with Garson composing the music. The Wozard of Iz was far from Garson's most polished effort, but it does stand out as being one of his most creative works, and certainly the strangest album he ever worked on. In fact I would dare say that it is one of the strangest albums I have ever had the pleasure of listening to. Basically it parodies The Wizard of Oz, with the character's names remaining the same, yet with their adventures taking place in a modern day (modern at the time of release) setting. It is a deliberate jab at the typical lifestyle lived by many americans during the 1960's. In this alternate-oz, Dorothy takes a "trip" and discovers a a better life free from the pressures of society. During the course of the album, the lyrics are at times brilliant, silly, disturbing, and nonsensical, however they are always complimentary of the music that accompanies them. If you are fan of electronic, psychedelic, or just insanely weird music, then you won't want to miss out on this.

Year of Release: 1968
Label: A&M Records
Genre: Electronic/Psychedelic
Bitrate: 256kbps

Track List:
1. Prologue
2. Leave the Driving to Us
3. Upset Strip
4. Never Follow the Yellow-Green Road
5. Thing-a-Ling (Scared Crow)
6. In-man
7. Man With the Word (Lyin' Coward)
8. They're Off to Find the Wozard
9. Blue Poppy
10. I've Been Over the Rainbow
11. Big Sur
12. Killing of the Witch
13. Finale

Download: Mort Garson - The Wozard of Iz (ifile)
Download Mirror: Mort Garson - The Wozard of Iz (MegaUpload)
File Size: 65MB

Video of the Week: Otis Redding - Satisfaction

Otis Redding - Satisfation

I'm sure that during the course of time I've spent running this blog that I've described several performances as 'energetic', but I was blown away by the energy that Otis Redding pumped out in this performance. I'm sure that Mick Jagger, who was present in the crowd that night, was equally stunned. I was going to post a great video of the Cramps until I found this gem. I'm sure you won't have any problems understanding why once you've viewed it. Enjoy!

Moondog - Moondog

Moondog was the alias of Louis T. Hardin (May 26, 1916 – September 8, 1999). He was a New York City street musician and former beat poet who was blinded as a young adult. From the late 1940s until 1974, he was a permanent fixture, busking on 54th Street and 6th Avenue in Manhattan. He was known not only for his music and poetry, but also for the distinctive Viking garb that he wore, including a horned helmet. He routinely gave away copies of his work to anybody who would take them. In this way, he came to the attention of producer James William Guercio, who took him into the studio to record an album, released as Moondog (1969) on the CBS label. The track Stamping Ground, with its odd preamble of Moondog saying one of his epigrams, was featured on the sampler double album Fill Your Head with Rock. A brief phrase of another track on the album, Bird's Lament (In memory of Charlie Parker) was sampled by Mr. Scruff as the basis for his 7-minute track Get a Move On.

A second album produced with Guercio, and featuring both him and Moondog's daughter as vocalists, contained song compositions in the forms of canons and rounds. It did not make an impression on popular music as the first had. The two CBS albums were re-released as a single CD in 1989.

Year of Release: 1969
Label: CBS
Genre: Classical/Experimental
Bitrate: 256kbps

Track List:
1. Theme
2. Stamping Ground
3. Symphonique #3 (Ode To Venus)
4. Symphonique #6 (Good For Goodie)
5. Cuplet
6. Minisym #1
7. Lament I, Bird's Lament
8. Witch Of Endor
9. Symphonique #1 (Portrait Of A Monarch)

Download: Moondog - Moondog (58MB)

Brainiac - Bonsai Superstar

"An astounding blast of cohesive madness"Brainiac were an American synth-punk/ indie rock band of the 1990s. They formed in Dayton, Ohio in January of 1992 with vocalist, guitarist and keyboard (particularly Moog synthesizers) player Tim Taylor, bassist Monostereo (Juan Monasterio), guitarist Michelle Bodine and drummer Tyler Trent. On the March 12th, the band played its first show at Wright State's University Cafeteria, under the name We'll Eat Anything. After a couple of singles, they released their debut album, Smack Bunny Baby, on Grass/ BMG Records in 1993. Bonsai Superstar, now with John Schmersal on guitar in place of Bodine, followed the next year.

Whereas Smack Bunny Baby had shown Brainiac to be a band that was still developing, Bonsai Superstar is an astounding blast of cohesive madness. The band finds its voice and vision and moves light years ahead of their peers (as well as where they had been musically only a year earlier). From the opening moments of "Hot Metal Dobermans," it is apparent that listeners are in the hands of an assured, ambitious group of musicians, including the newly arrived John Schmersal on guitar. The music is far more adventurous than on the previous album, incorporating more raw noise and sound effects, and even constructing "Fucking with the Altimeter" around a series of spoken samples. But lead singer Tim Taylor is the star of this show. His combination of a Betty Boop falsetto and an Elvis-style croon on "Flypaper" is mesmerizing, and his explosive strut through "Sexual Frustration" exudes pure star power. Bonsai Superstar captures a band that was ahead of their time. In 1997 they released an electronic-based EP called Electro-Shock for President which turned out to be their last record: Tim Taylor was killed in a car accident on May 23rd, 1997, during the pre-production for their fourth album, which was due out on Interscope Records, after which the group soon disbanded.

Year of Release: 1994
Label: Grass/BMG
Genre: Experimental/Punk/Noise
Bitrate: 128kbps

Track List:
1. Hot Metal Doberman's
2. Hands of the Genius
3. Fucking With The Altimeter
4. Radio Apeshot
5. Transmissions After Zero
6. Juicy (On A Cadillac)
7. Flypaper
8. Sexual Frustration
9. To The Baby-Counter
10. You Wrecked My Hair
11. Meathook Manicure
12. Status: Choke
13. Collide

Download: Braniac - Bonsai Superstar (33MB)

Video of the Week: MC5 - Kick Out The Jams (Live - 1970)

I apologize for the recent lack of updates, but I haven't been home the last couple of days. However I should be home tomorrow, and I'll be sure to resume uploading material for you fine folks. In the meantime here is this week's VOTW.

MC5 - Kick Out The Jams (Live - 1970)

I would like to thank my good friend Brian for discovering this video. I know that this footage has been ripped from a DVD, although I'm not sure of the title. I'll be sure to find out when I get home so that I can provide as much information as possible. As you can see from the video, the MC5, who were way ahead of their time, put on a very energetic live show before a seemingly unprepared audience. The show took place at Tartar Field on the University of Detroit campus in 1970. I'll post the other videos to this set, as well as the DVD info, whenever I return home.

13th Floor Elevators - The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators

Update: I've re-uploaded this file as requested. I'm not sure what the problem is, but most of the files that were hosted on gigasize are no longer working. For some strange reason they are still active, but the files have changed into small 1kb files. I've sent an e-mail to the gigasize admins to inform them of the problem, and hopefully they will be able to restore the files, or fix the problem. On a good note... It looks like I'm back permanently. Everything went well with court and I don't have to go back till May, and my internet service is working once again. You can look forward to regular updates once again.

There are few albums from the early stages of the psych movement that sound as distinctively trippy, and remain as pleasing

Did the 13th Floor Elevators invent psychedelic rock? Aficionados will be debating that point for decades, but if Roky Erickson and his fellow travelers into inner space weren't there first, they were certainly close to the front of the line, and there are few albums from the early stages of the psych movement that sound as distinctively trippy, and remain as pleasing as the group's groundbreaking debut, The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators. In 1966, psychedelia hadn't been around long enough for its clichés to be set in stone, and Psychedelic Sounds thankfully avoids most of them; while the sensuous twists of the melodies and the charming psychobabble of the lyrics make it sound like these folks were indulging in something stronger than Pearl Beer, at this point the Elevators sounded like a smarter-than-average folk-rock band with a truly uncommon level of intensity. Roky Erickson's vocals are strong and compelling throughout, whether he's wailing like some lysergic James Brown or murmuring quietly, and Stacy Sutherland's guitar leads, long on melodic invention without a lot of pointless heroics, are a real treat to hear. And nobody played electric jug quite like Tommy Hall. Actually, nobody played it at all besides him, but his oddball noises gave the band a truly unique sonic texture. If you want to argue that psychedelia was as much a frame of mind as a musical style, it's instructive to compare the recording of "You're Gonna Miss Me" by Erickson's earlier band, the Spades, to the version on this album, the difference is more attitudinal than anything else, but it's enough to make all the difference in the world. (The division is even clearer between the Spades' "We Sell Soul" and the rewrite on Psychedelic Sounds, "Don't Fall Down"). The 13th Floor Elevators were trailblazers in the psychedelic rock scene, and in time they'd pay a heavy price for exploring the outer edges of musical and psychological possibility, but along the way they left behind a few fine albums, and The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators remains a potent delight.

Year of Release: 1966
Label: Collectables
Genre: Psychedelic
Bitrate: 192kbps

Track List:
1. You're Gonna Miss Me
2. Roller Coaster
3. Splash 1
4. Reverberation
5. Don't Fall Down
6. Fire Engine
7. Thru The Rhythm
8. You Don't Know (How Young You Are)
9. Kingdom Of Heaven
10. Monkey Island
11. Tried To Hide
12. Everybody Needs Somebody To Love (Live)
13. You Really Got Me (Live)
14. Gloria (Live)
15. You're Gonna Miss Me (Live)

Download: 13th Floor Elevators - The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators
Download Size: 72MB

Comment Moderation

I've had someone leaving hateful comments and false accusations on the blog recently, so I've been forced to enable comment moderation, and will possibly have to require registration. I've been running this blog for almost two years, and I've never had a bad experience with any of the visitors here. It's unfortunate that one person has to ruin it for everyone else. When I came home today and checked my e-mail I was alerted to the fact that there were over 70 comments awaiting moderation from this individual, who posts anonymously I might add. I deleted the post (Roky Erickson - Gremlins Have Pictures) and re-published it, rather than moderating the 70+ comments that were left, so I apologize to those of you had their positive comments deleted.

I believe that everyone is entitled to his/her own opinion, and I wouldn't try to censor anyone who was merely expressing that opinion, but I won't allow false statements to be made about me. I live in rather poor conditions, and work hard just to keep what little bit I have. I've also been trying to take care of a lot of problems which have overwhelmed me lately. Despite all that, I still take time out, almost daily, to generously provide you all with music from my collection. I have obviously already listened to this music, and have nothing to gain by sharing it with you all, other than having the satisfaction of being able to give the artists that I love the recognition that they deserve. This blog is a hobby; an escape from the every day stresses of life, but if that carries over here, then I will have to call it quits.

Life is too short. Let go of whatever it is that's bothering you...
To the Anonymous User who has been leaving dozens of slanderous and pointless comments.. I'm not sure why you are angry with me. I don't appreciate being accused of doing the things that you mentioned in your comments, just as I'm sure you wouldn't. Considering I've never exchanged words with you, I believe that you need to reconsider your position, and hopefully find a better way to use your time. The only people you are hurting are the visitors to this blog and yourself, not me. Life is too short my friend. Let go of whatever it is that's bothering you and move on. It's okay to have problems. We all do. But it's not okay to take those problems out on other people who haven't done anything to you. Despite my better judgement, I'll give you one last chance to respond in a civilized manner and explain to me what the problem is. No one will see your comment but me.

Video of the Week: Paul Dateh & Inka One - Hip Hop Violin

I was considering starting another blog to feature musical content that I wouldn't otherwise post on this blog, such as music videos. I may still go through with that plan, but since I've been using the myspace profile that I created for that purpose, I'm going to go ahead and postpone that plan for the moment. However I've decided that it's time to offer a bit of variety on this blog, and I think the best way to do that would be to offer the occasional video. So starting now, I'll be posting the best videos that I've recently discovered each week. I hope that you will enjoy my selections. You can find more on the Digital Meltd0wn MySpace blog. This week's Video of the Week is Paul Dateh & Inka One performing what is simply titled "Hip Hop Violin".

Paul Dateh & Inka One - Hip Hop Violin

Paul Dateh is a classically trained musician. Although the violin is his forte, he is also considered a talented jazz artist and vocalist. He often performs a fusion classical violin and hip-hop as demonstrated in this video. Be sure to visit his websites below for more information, and free music downloads. You can find the audio from this video available for download on his myspace profile. It's the last track on the player.


http://pauldateh.com
http://myspace.com/pauldateh

Jail Update

I'm out on bond at the moment. I have to go back to court on March 3rd. Without going into too much detail, I'll just say that I've violated my probation. I may or may not have to go back to jail on March 3rd. If it's possible I'm going to extend my court date by getting a court appointed lawyer. I have to focus on taking care of a few things concerning this matter over the next couple of days. I'm going to make a few calls and find out what I can about the possible sentence I would recieve, if any. I'll post some new material once that is taken care of. Thank you for your support. I'll keep you all updated of any changes as soon as I'm made aware of them.

Update: I'll be gone for a couple of days. I have to drive close to 400 miles to the location of the court. As I mentioned above, I'm going to ask for a court appointed lawyer, so hopefully they will reset my date, which will give me a few weeks or months to take care of my responsibilities. If all goes well I should be back on the 4th. If I am I'll begin working on the albums that were request to be re-uploaded (Roky Erickson & 13th Floor Elevators. Wish me luck.

Update 2 Well.. everything turned out okay. The judge was very understand of my situation and reset my court date in order to give me time to comply with the court's requirements. For those wondering.. I was originally charged with possession of marijuana, which I was placed on probation for. I violated that probation due to a misunderstanding on my part, which I won't go into detail because it would take more time than it's worth to explain here, but it really wasn't that big of a deal. I would like to say thank you to those who offered kind words.

Roky Erickson - Gremlins Have Pictures

Cobbled together from live tapes, studio outtakes, and well-known for his mental illness and erratic behavior, caused in no small part by shock therapy and incarceration in a Texas mental hospital casually recorded demos, Gremlins Have Pictures was the lesser of the two albums Roky Erickson, the former frontman for the 13th Floor Elevators, though it still captured the psychedelic pioneer in potent and hard rocking form. Several different backing bands appear on these tracks, ranging from the tight and empathetic the Aliens to Texas proto-punk also-rans the Explosives, but Erickson was in strong voice when this stuff was put on tape (no dates are included, but most of this probably dates from the early '80s), and even the lesser musicians at least try to match him for energy (and often succeed). Gremlins Have Pictures also preserves some of the less well-known titles in the Roky Erickson songbook; while "I Have Always Been Here Before" is once again recycled here, the oddball ballads "Anthem (I Promise)" and "Song to Abe Lincoln" and potent rockers "The Interpreter" and "Cold Night for Alligators" rank with Erickson's more memorable tunes, and the into-the-wind cover of the Velvet Underground's "Heroin" certainly ups the frenzy factor of the original. Gremlins Have Pictures is a patch job, but at least it's a patch job done with care and concern for the material, and musically it has a lot more going for it than the wealth of semi-authorized Erickson sets floating around.

Track List:
1. Night of the Vampire
2. Interpreter
3. Song to Abe Lincoln
4. John Lawman
5. Anthem (I Promise)
6. Warning (Social & Political Injustices)
7. Sweet Honey Pie
8. Cold Night for Alligators
9. I Am
10. Heroin
11. I Have Always Been Here Before
12. Before in the Beginning

Download: Roky Erickson - Gremlins Have Pictures
Download Size: 56.9MB

Axcraft - Dancing Madly Backwards

A must for any fans of '70s progressive music.Axcraft was a mid-'70s band from California around whom legends were built. Originally recorded for Bill Holmes' All American Records label, Dancing Madly Backwards was never officially released, but an acetate of the album made its way onto the collector's market, causing quite a stir. The sound of the band was progressive hard rock and many who heard it thought they were a British band. In the genre of such bands as Yes, Gentle Giant, Strawbs, Wishbone Ash, or many more similarly styled acts. Contained here are the original five songs (all clocking in at over five minutes!) from the acetate, which was recorded at United Audio in Tustin, California, together with two bonus live tracks recorded by the band themselves during their heyday. Officially sanctioned by band members and taken from original tapes supplied by band producer Bill Holmes, who also designed the album cover from original designs, this album is a must for any fans of '70s progressive music.
(Year of Release: 1974)

Track List:
1. So Far Away
2. Astral Love
3. 727 Suite
4. Firewheel
5. Dancing Madly Backwards
6. Vahalla (Live)
7. Love Is Blue (Live)

Download: Axcraft - Dancing Madly Backwards (27MB)

Kim Fowley - Animal God of the Streets (Re-Up)

The story of Kim Fowley, the original eccentric svengali figure, reads like a history of rock’n’roll music for the past 40 years. In the 60’s he first came to prominence instigating novelty pop chart-toppers such as ‘Alley Oop’, The Murmaids ‘Popsicles And Icicles’ and B. Bumble & The Stingers’ ‘Nutrocker’. Then he diversified and became a poet, actor, and dancer.

In 1966 as the hippie movement started, he organised a series of ‘love- ins’ in San Francisco which earned him notoriety as a weird creature of excess. His first album was ‘Love Is Alive And Well’ in 1967, then two on Capitol, and this fourth album on Skydog. He became involved with Blue Oyster Cult, famously master-minded The Runaways, co-produced (with John Cale) The Modern Lovers, produced the first Soft Machine single, wrote film scripts, recorded with BMX Bandits…

Over the years, other artists he’s been a song-writer or producer for include: Alice Cooper, The Beach Boys, The Byrds, Cat Stevens, the ‘Ciao Manhattan’ movie, Family, Flash Cadillac & the Continental Kids, Gene Vincent, Helen Reddy, Hollywood Stars, Kiss, Leo Kottke, Paul Revere and the Raiders, The Seeds, Skip Battin, Slade, Them, Traffic, Warren Zevon, Frank Zappa’s Mothers Of Invention, etc, etc… so if you’re a long-standing music fan you’re likely to have something of Fowley’s in your collection.

Kim Fowley did all the vocals and played all the instruments on the songs on Animal God Of The Streets, as well as the recording, engineering, and production. They were recorded in New Zealand between 1969-1971, yet not released until 1974.
(Year of Release: 1974)

Track List:
1. Night Of The Hunter
2. Long Live Rock'n'Roll
3. Were Wolf Dynamite
4. Is America Dead?
5. Rumble
6. California Swamp Dance
7. Hobo Wine
8. Dangerous Vision
9. Ain't Got No Transportation

Download: Kim Fowley - Animal God of the Streets (47MB)

White Noise - An Electric Storm

White Noise is an electronic music band formed in London, England in 1969 by American born David Vorhaus, a classical bass player with a background in both physics and electronic engineering. He was initially joined by BBC Radiophonic Workshop composers Delia Derbyshire and Brian Hodgson, both ex of electronic music project Unit Delta Plus.

In 1968 White Noise released the groundbreaking album An Electric Storm on Island Records. The album was created using a variety of tape manipulation techniques, and is notable for its early use of the first British synthesizer, the EMS Synthi VCS3. Amongst many oddities, the first track on the album Love Without Sound employed speeded up tape edits of Vorhaus playing the double bass to create violin and cello sounds. 'I use voices a lot too, but not as conventional vocals. I always use a lot of voices, and if somebody having an orgasm in the background is used as part of one of the waveforms, it makes the sound more interesting, without the listener actually knowing what they're hearing.' Interview with David Vorhaus

Although not initially commercially successful for Island, it has over the years proved to be a cult classic, namechecked by such contemporary artists as The Orb and Julian Cope, influencing such contemporary acts Broadcast and Add N to (X). Derbyshire and Hodgson left White Noise and moved on to other projects after An Electric Storm, while Vorhous would go on to release an additional four albums under the same name.
(Year of Release: 1968)

Track List:
1. Love Without Sound
2. My Game Of Loving
3. Here Come The Fleas
4. Firebird
5. Your Hidden Dreams
6. The Visitations
7. The Black Mass: An Electric Storm In Hell

Download: White Noise - An Electric Storm (82MB)

A Request

I have a request for you fine people. I'm trying to find the album 'Rock' by The Riplets. To be more exact, I need their cover of Beat It from that album. If any of you could help me out with this request I would greatly appreciate it.

Velcra - Between Force And Fate

Between Force and Fate is a smack in the face from a fist that entered a time vortex in 1993 and reappeared just in time to knock the knowing noughties cynicism from our grinning faces. It's fantastic. Velcra do share a few attributes with their Finnish rock compatriots - they all have a flair for incredibly infectious musical hooks, they could all be accused of being more than a little derivative and they all have a sound that's far more than the sum of their influences. That, however, is where the comparisons end. Instead of overblown 80s rock, Velcra's heart is in early 90s rave, rap metal and political rebellion. Think Rage Against the Machine meets The Prodigy with a female lead-singer thrown in the mix.

Beginning as a two-piece for debut album Consequences of Disobedience, Velcra started life as guitarist/programmer O.D. (a sort-of Finnish Liam Howlett) and uber-versatile vocalist Jessi Frey. Now expanded to a full band that's still mixing programmed beats in with the acoustic drums, they're making music that is guaranteed to set any rock club ballistic, so long as they actually make the playlist.

Opener War Is Peace sets off in ballistic fashion, a machine-gun riff exploding into a furious tirade from Jessi Frey. The hook lines are simple but effective, "The battle has begun, counting 3-2-1 / are you ready?" she yells, and you can already hear the crowds shouting along. War is Peace feels like the tune of the year, at least until you get to Our Will Against Their Will, which is even better. Based on a speech Queen Elizabeth I gave to her troops in 1588 it combines a fantastic synth hook, a punishing sledgehammer guitar and a fantastic sense of uplifting fury to amazing effect.

By this point in the album you've tasted Velcra's energy, but only just scratched the surface of their versatility, or rather that of vocalist Jessi Frey. If she's not top of Liam Howlett's wish-list for collaborators, she soon will be after this. Imagine a female Mike Patton, or rather a cross between Mike Patton, Keith Flint, Dido and Bjork, a singer with a multitude of completely different voices and the ability to switch between any of them in an instant. I found Velcra while searching for artists to include in the female rock compilation that I'm throwing together, and they are a great find indeed. You can expect to see at least one song by them on the comp.
(Year of Release: 2005)

Track List:
1. War Is Peace
2. Water Is Getting High
3. Our Will Against Their Will
4. For My Loneliness I Pay
5. Memory Loss
6. I Can't Tell The Sun From The Moon
7. The Bong Song
8. Corruption
9. Hotel Alcatraz
10. Wonderland Sunrise

Download: Velcra - Between Force And Fate (59MB)

Jail...

I may or may not be going to jail this weekend. I just wanted to let you all know in case you don't see any updates from me in a while. Hopefully I'll be able to resolve the situation quickly. I don't expect to be in for more than a couple of days, but in the unlikely even that I'm not, just keep an eye out for my return. In the meantime, please leave a comment and recommend some music for me to check out whenever I get out.

Thee Mighty Caesars - Caesars Remains

This was originally posted on Thee Head Vein blog. Be sure to check it out if you haven't already. There is a lot of material posted there that is well worth checking out. I'm considering created a Billy Childish label for all the various projects he has worked on. Let me know if this is something you all would be interested in.

"What you got here is rare and unissued cyclonic "punk from the vaults of suave!" "What you got here is rare and unissued cyclonic "punk from the vaults of suave!" Other than song titles there's no real info as to when or where these 18 tracks are from, but no matter 'cause this is 100% pure swag!" -hdvns

Track List:
1. Little By Little
2. What You Got
3. Your Looking Fine
4. I Just Wanna Make Love To You
5. Cadalina
6. Man Taken From Guts
7. Gonna Make You Mine
8. The Swag
9. 1977
10. Cowboys Are Square
11. 10 Bears Of The Comanche
12. Pussy Whipped
13. True To You
14. Your Love
15. Keep Your Hands Off My Child
16. Cyclonic
17. Death Of A Mighty Caesar
18. Better Off Dead

Download: Thee Mighty Caesars - Caesars Remains (52MB)

Female Rock Compilation - I Need Your Help

I'm working on putting together an all female rock compilation, with the theme obviously being female fronted rock bands. It will be the first in a series that I'm working on simply titled "Digital Meltd0wn Presents:"; not very exciting, I know, but the music, liner notes, and album art will make up for it. Some of the artists/bands I am considering featuring are:

Babes In Toyland, The Runaways, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, PJ Harvey, Jack Off Jill,The Donnas, Veruca Salt, Daisy Chainsaw, Queen Adreena, Kittie, Betty X, The Avengers, Horrorpops, Lydia Lunch, Bitch Alert, Velcra, Roxy Saint, The Gits, Sahara Hotnights, Sexpod, Fluffy, The Soviettes, My Ruin, Bikini Kill, 7 Year Bitch, The Distillers, L7, The Kills, Devotchkas, Bif Naked, Rasputina, Penetration, The Slits, Pain Teens, Lunachicks

Now I could use your help. I know you wonderful people are aware of some hard rocking chicks that aren't on this list, so please let me know of any artists, bands, or particular songs, that you think should be included on this list by leaving a comment.
I'm also trying to think of a good name for the compilation, so if you have any ideas please comment.

Digital Meltd0wn On MySpace

I've decided to create a new myspace profile specifically for Digital Meltd0wn. I plan to use this profile for posting things that I wouldn't normally be willing to do here, and communicating with those of you who have a healthy, or unhealthy love for music. I plan on adding music videos, weekly recommendations, single mp3 downloads, concert artist/band and memorabilia images, and much more. It's going to be much more than your average lame and boring myspace profile.

I will be accepting all friend requests, however if you're going to add me, please make an effort to communicate with me occasionally.

Digital Meltd0wn Profile: http://myspace.com/digitalmeltd0wn
Add Me As Your Friend: Add Digital Meltd0wn

Pain Teens - Stimulation Festival

Underground noise-rockers Pain Teens were just developing a national identity when Stimulation Festival, their second collection of new material, was released by Trance Syndicate. Similar to the group's previous official releases (and their many '80s self-released cassettes), this 1991 effort is pasted together with Scott Ayers' strange tape loops/guitar experiments and vocalist Bliss Blood's detached ruminations detailing all things shocking and unmentionable. Death, struggle, and female health/physiology are subjects typically covered either directly or metaphorically.. that is, depending on how you read the song titles, as Ayers' sonic monstrosities often drown out Blood's missives. A unique and prolific outfit, Pain Teens cast out discs like Stimulation Festival for over a decade, to the delight of many extreme rock fanatics. However, recommending one of the group's recordings over another is difficult due to the lack of definitive songs or performances. Having said that, Stimulation Festival would be a fine introduction for new fans, as it is nothing if not representative of Pain Teens' sonic assault.
(Year of Release: 1992)

Track List:
1. Shallow Hole
2. The Dead Cannot
3. God Told Me
4. The Poured Out Blood
5. Drowning
6. Living Hell
7. Indiscreet Jewels
8. Wild World
9. Daughter Of Chaos
10. Evil Dirt
11. Brusied
12. Dog Spirits
13. Hangman's Rope
14. Apartment #213

Download: Pain Teens - Stimulation Festival (68MB)

The Runaways - The Runaways

When the Runaways debuted in 1976 with this self-titled LP, aggressive female rockers were the exception instead of the rule. Women had no problem becoming folk-rockers, singer/songwriters or Top 40 icons, but female artists who had more in common with Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith than Joni Mitchell were hardly the norm. With this album, the Runaways made it crystal clear that women (or specifically, adolescent girls) were more than capable of playing intense, forceful hard rock that went directly for the jugular. Lusty classics like "Cherry Bomb" and "You Drive Me Wild" made no attempt to conceal the fact that teenage girls could be every bit as sexual as the guys -- a message that both men and women found intimidating. And on "Is It Day or Night," Cherie Currie sings about life in the fast lane with every bit as much conviction as Axl Rose would 11 years later. Currie and Joan Jett are equally riveting, and a 17-year-old Lita Ford was already an impressive guitarist. This LP was far from a commercial hit in the U.S., where timid rock radio programmers simply didn't know what to make of the Runaways. But interestingly, it did earn the band a strong following in the major rock market of Japan.
(Year of Release: 1976)

Track List:
1. Cherry Bomb
2. You Drive Me Wild
3. Is It Day or Night?
4. Thunder
5. Rock & Roll
6. Lovers
7. American Nights
8. Blackmail
9. Secrets
10. Dead End Justice

Download: The Runaways - The Runaways (73MB)

Electric Frankenstein - The Time Is Now!

Here's The Time Is Now! by Electric Frankenstein as requested by Cordoron. This is the first official full length LP from the Jersey punk quintet. Already known to legitimate punks via their numerous singles (see "EF Conquers the World"), this album shows how punk is supposed to be.. stripped down, raw, no fancy tricks. Just rock 'n' roll. The beauty of this record is that it is stripped down without a loss of intensity. Every single word is screamed by vocalist Steve Miller. The rhythm section provides constant momentum for the chunky power chord guitar work. The opener "Teenage Shutdown" is an incredibly driving song, reinstating the punk guitar solo as a credible component of songwriting. The slow, rumbling title track conveys its sense of urgency with lines like "the time is now, so don't be late." Similar themes are expressed in "Superstar" with the imperative line "We gotta wake up this generation." The boys continue to praise 50's horror flicks with "I Want More" and "EF Theme." The latter uses the Frankenstein creature as a metaphor for people who are comfortable with their eccentricities, while delivering clever phrases such as "My mother was electricity, my father was a corpse." A great throwback to the way punk used to be before it was commercialized.
(Year of Release: 1995)

Track List:
1. Teenage Shutdown
2. The Time Is Now!
3. Superstar
4. Right On Target
5. I Want More
6. Demolition Joyride
7. EF Theme
8. Fast & Furious
9. Rise And Crash
10. We Are The Dangerous
11. Too Much For You
12. A Sweet Sickness

Electric Frankenstein - The Time Is Now!   (88.5MB at 320Kbps)

Betty X - Memoirs Of A Pain Junkie

Betty Zoe Kaylor, better known as the performance artist Betty X, has been making music since the mid-90's, when she formed the controversial art rock band, Salon Betty. After the group disbanded, she decided to pursue a solo career, releasing Bad Side of Love in 1999. Her current self-titled solo project is much heavier and darker than previous material; with heavy, loud and grinding guitars, breakneck tempos, apocalyptic distortion and noise, moody sound-scapes and extremely aggressive, distorted vocals, the music is best described as industrial metal.

The newer songs cover a range of genres, however: "Human Disease" has the totalitarian/Orwellian flavor of Marilyn Manson, "Dystopia" is a poppy, bass-driven tune a la Nine Inch Nails, "Mons Venus" is a dark and sultry rock piece akin to P.J. Harvey, and most of Memoirs of a Pain Junkie could be considered straight-forward alternative metal in the style of Ministry's Psalm 69. Memoirs of a Pain Junkie is Betty X's third solo release and first full-length album. It is also her heaviest and hardest-hitting material to date. The album was released in 2006 through Anti-Social Records.

Track List:
1. Necrotic
2. Chainsaw
3. Bloodworm
4. Ultraviolence
5. Shoot'em Up
6. Bleed
7. The Snake Pit
8. Ossuary 13
9. Pain Junkie

Download: Betty X - Memoirs Of A Pain Junkie (32MB)

The Bronx - The Bronx

The Bronx's self-titled debut is a beautifully violent exhibition of pure punk rock. No pogo-pouncing guitar licks or aggro-happy vocals fit the ambitious agenda of this SoCal four-piece, nor do they hold the pretense held by most post-grunge rock kids. The Bronx are dead serious with their craft; they're uncompromising without being disconcerting, allowing this powerhouse release to make an impression. Sure, criticizing the America's conservative value system may be more than overdone, but if you're able to say something new, it's relevant and that's exactly what makes The Bronx an interesting first album. Themes of direction and rejection carry this manic, red-hot cardinal set with producer Gilby Clarke at the helm. As soon as "Heart Attack American" kicks things off, the Bronx immediately blast you with a Stooges-meets-Fugazi jolt. Matt Caughthran's vocals are not only a frenzied mess, but they're scathingly convincing. Joby J. Ford (guitar), James Tweedy (bass), and Jorma Vik (drums) make for a sharp backup section, and songs like "White Tar" and "Notice of Eviction" thrive on the band's personal revolt against what's mediocre and typically popularized. In classic punk style.
(Year of Release: 2006)

Track List:
1. Heart Attack American
2. False Alarm
3. White Tar
4. Cobra Lucha
5. They Will Kill Us All (Without Mercy)
6. I Got Chills
7. Guns Without Bullets
8. Notice of Eviction
9. Kill My Friends
10. Strobe Life

Download: The Bronx - The Bronx (41MB)

Note: I accidently included the wrong album art in the .rar file. I didn't realize this until after I started my upload. The album art you see above in this post is the correct album cover.

Oops

I accidently deleted the header above the blog posts which contained the main menu. I'll work on getting that back up as soon as possible.

I'm Back...

I just wanted to let you all know that I'm back. I'm sure some of you noticed that I was able to put a few albums up during the time that I didn't have internet service at home. Normally I tag all of the songs myself, but since I wasn't at home I had to put them up as is. Much to my surprise I noticed that there wasn't a dramatic decrease in traffic during the time I wasn't making new post. I also noticed that traffic has dramatically increased to my other blog during the last week or so. I have some well known blogs linking to it now, which explains the noticeable increase in traffic. If you haven't had a chance to check it out yet, please do yourself a favor and do so. You can find it here: http://music-bloggers.blogspot.com

I'll be working on re-uploading a few albums that were mentioned, and finding the albums that were requested over the next few days. I would like to thank those of you who recommended music for me to check out as I requested during my time away. Thanks once again for all your support.

Elvis Presley - Elvis In Person At The International Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada

I don't normally post mainsteam musicians or bands, but I thought I would make an exception. After all.. what type of music blog would I be running if I didn't post at least one album by the king of rock n' roll. The songs on this album were recorded between August 22-26 in 1969.

When Elvis and the Colonel decided it was time to start appearing live again, they assembled a crackerjack band (featuring James Burton) and took on Vegas full-bore. Easily the King's best live album, In Person at the International Hotel featured a slew of hits, including "Johnny B. Goode," "My Babe," the "Mystery Train/Tiger Man" medley, and "Suspicious Minds." If the album had a flaw, it was its skimpy running time (36 minutes). We now know, from the unissued tracks from these same performances that were added to the remastered On Stage (1970), that there was more to the repertory of those five days of August 1969 shows than is represented here; but the producers, limited to a single LP, faced a major problem: Should they weigh the tracks more toward his current repertory and recent singles, or toward his classic songs? The classic songs sort of won out, but in the decades since, those then-recent singles have risen in stature.

Regardless of what they're playing, the band really rock throughout, and that's not just Burton who sounds like he's wearing his fingers ragged as he puts a new edge on "Hound Dog," coming up with something different than, yet vaguely similar to, Scotty Moore's approach to the song in concert 14 years earlier, but also the entire guitar contingent of John Wilkinson and Charlie Hodge (not to mention Elvis himself, who strums along here and there) and the muscular rhythm section of bassist Jerry Scheff and drummer Ronnie Tutt. The vocal support by Hodge, Millie Kirkham, the Sweet Inspirations, and the Imperials is soaring and tasteful, never more so than on the album's seven-minute version of "Suspicious Minds" and the soaring finale, "Can't Help Falling in Love."
(Year of Release: 1970)

Track List:
1. Blue Suede Shoes
2. Johnny B. Goode
3. All Shook Up
4. Are You Lonesome Tonight?
5. Hound Dog
6. I Can't Stop Loving You
7. My Babe
8. Medley: Mystery Train/Tiger Man
9. Words
10. In The Ghetto
11. Suspicious Minds
12. Can't Help Falling In Love

Download: Elvis Presley - Elvis In Person At The International Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada (85MB)

Just Checking In

I just thought I would let you all know that it will be at least a week before I have internet access. I'll try to get a few albums up between now and then, but I'll be unable to update it daily.

I May Be Offline A Few Days

I'm in the process of moving at the moment. My internet service will have to be transferred, and I'm not sure how long that will take. Hopefully it won't be much more than a couple of days. I'll try to respond to any questions or comments if I have free time at work, but I won't be uploading any new material until my internet service is back again.

In the meantime, please leave a comment and recommend me some artists/bands to check out, or leave me some feedback on the recent modifications I've made to the blog, or suggestions for improvements or new features.

Redd Kross - Teen Babes From Monsanto

This album is currently out of print and not available on CD, so I suggest you get this while you can.

Redd Kross was the brainchild of Steve and Jeff McDonald, brothers from the Los Angeles suburb of Hawthorne (also home of the Beach Boys) who began playing music together before either had hit puberty. Fueled by a series of dubious visits to famed area rock clubs like the Roxy and the Whiskey-a-Go-Go, they formed their first band, the Tourists, in 1978; Jeff, then 15, handled vocal duties while Steve, 11, took up the bass.

After rounding out the group with schoolmates Greg Hetson on guitar and Ron Reyes on drums, the Tourists played their first gig, opening for Black Flag. Following a name change to Red Cross, they issued their self-titled EP debut in 1980. After the departure of Hetson and Reyes (for the Circle Jerks and Black Flag, respectively), the McDonalds enlisted a revolving line-up of underground musicians for their full-length follow-up, 1981's Born Innocent, which found the group's pop-culture obsessions bubbling over on tributes like "Linda Blair" and "Charlie" (about Charles Manson, whose "Cease to Exist" they also covered).

Following the album's release, the band was threatened with a lawsuit from the real International Red Cross; as a result, they became Redd Kross, and returned in 1984 with Teen Babes from Monsanto. Ex-Black Flag singer Dez Cadena had already come and gone through Redd Kross by the time Geza X produced the seven-song Teen Babes From Monsanto. Running strictly on wicked irreverence, the McDonalds and drummer Dave Peterson turn the spotlight on various musical victims, and the Redd Kross living jukebox bangs out loud and convincing covers of Kiss ("Deuce"), the Stones ("Citadel"), Stooges ("Ann"), Bowie ("Savior Machine") and others, leaving "Linda Blair 1984" the sole original. A record of the ultimate bratty garage band in its element. (Year of Release: 1984)

Credit goes out to the TwilightZone! Music Blog for originally uploading this wonderful album.

Track List
1.Deuce
2. Citadel
3. Heaven Only Knows
4. Ann
5. Savior Machine
6. Blow You a Kiss In the Wind
7. Linda Blair 1984

Download: Redd Kross - Teen Babes From Monsanto (20.4MB)

My Wishlist

Since I've uploaded hundreds of albums, and filled many requests, I thought it would be fair to create a wishlist for albums that I would like to have. The great thing about the music blog community is that we are able to obtain almost anything regardless of how scarce it may be. The albums below are on the list either because I couldn't find them, or I'm short on time and need a place to list them so I don't forget to check them out later. I have also listed albums which were requested by visitors that I have been unable or haven't had the time to find. Thanks in advance to those of you who are able to fill these requests for me. So without further ado.. here's my wishlist:

My Wishlist:

Elmer Bernstein - Robot Monster (1953)

New Feature - Table Of Contents

I've made another modification to the blog which I believe will help you to find what you are looking for. If you look to the sidebar on the right, directly underneath my profile, you will see the option to 'Show Table of Contents'. Clicking it will reveal a list of all the posts that I have made in alphabetical order. They can also be sorted by the date they were posted. I've noticed that this modification increases page load time; specifically the time it takes for the portion of the sidbar beneath the Table Of Contents to display. It was more apparent on Opera than Firefox, but it wasn't significant enough to be a problem for me. I haven't tested it on Internet Explorer yet. If you notice that page times are extremely slow, please leave a comment and let me know.

This modication was made possible thanks to Beautiful Beta. Please give me some feedback about this addition.

Show Your Support

As some of you may know I had a graphic design contest for Digital Meltd0wn recently. The winner, a talented guy by the name of Fill, came up with a wonderful banner and button set. If you would like to show your support for the blogroll you can do so by displaying this button on your website/blog. There are also a great selection of banners to choose from which were submitted by the participants of the graphic design contest which can be found here. Thank you for your support.

Copy & paste the code below onto your website

<a href="http://digitalmeltd0wn.blogspot.com"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2258/2221034540_693cb4538b.jpg"></a>

Note: I'm not sure why, but a box is showing up around the button. This has something to do with the blogger layout that I've chosen, and is not part of the image. This box will not appear on your website. In order to view what the image will look like simply right click on the button and select 'open image'.

Tar - Jackson

Part of the Chicago underground scene of the late '80s and early '90s, Tar played a fierce blend of abrasive noise rock and post-hardcore punk, drawing from local touchstones like Big Black and Naked Raygun. However, they were also influenced by vintage punk bands like the Sex Pistols and the Stooges. As they evolved, they were often compared to more metallic noisemakers like Helmet and the Jesus Lizard. Tar's thick, heavy guitar textures and pitch-dark dissonance were an accurate reflection of their moniker, and their disdain for accessibility or major-label exposure was just as accurate a reflection of the scene from which they'd arisen.

In 1988 the group landed a deal with Jello Biafra's Alternative Tentacles imprint. Tar made their proper debut with the 1989 EP Handsome, half of which was engineered by Steve Albini; they followed it with another 7", "Flow Plow" b/w "Hand." Tar's first-ever full-length appeared in 1990 in the form of Roundhouse, which was produced by Albini and found the band growing more assured in its style. Bassist Mescher left the band in early 1991 and was replaced by Tom Zaluckyj. The "Solution 8" single followed, as did their second album, Jackson, which again boasted assistance from Albini and showed Mohr developing into a stronger vocalist. Tar subsequently departed Amphetamine Reptile in favor of Touch & Go, making their debut with the 1992 single "Teetering"; a split 7" with Dischord emo heroes Jawbox followed hot on its heels. 1993's Clincher EP flirted with the grungy side of electric Neil Young, a trend that continued on the full-length Toast, which appeared later that year.

The band toured the U.S. and Europe in support of Toast, and the latter leg of the tour went poorly. Deciding that they were no longer enjoying themselves as they once had, Tar agreed to go their separate ways after one more album. Over and Out was released in 1995 and was widely acclaimed as the high point of their career, thanks to its greater variety. In the wake of Tar's dissolution, Zaluckyj and Greenlees reteamed in Luckyj, which never released a record. Greenlees also played in Ex-Chittle with former Dis- member Rob Sieracki. Meanwhile, Zaluckyj played with the B-52's' Fred Schneider for a brief period, and also worked as an engineer at Albini's studio.
(Year of Release: 1991)

Track List:
1. Short Trades
2. Cross Offer
3. Walking the King
4. On a Transfer
5. Trauma
6. Dark Mark
7. Goethe
8. Tellerman
9. Land Luck
10. Viaduct Removal

Download: Tar - Jackson (44MB)

Bo Diddley - Bo Diddley

Bo Diddley aka "The Originator", is often cited as a key figure in the transition of blues into rock and roll, by introducing more insistent, driving rhythms and a hard edged guitar sound. He was born Ellas Otha Bates in McComb, Mississippi, and was adopted and raised by his mother's cousin, Gussie McDaniel. He took her surname, becoming Ellas McDaniel. The family moved to Chicago when he was seven. He took violin lessons as a youth, but was given a guitar by his sister and was inspired to become a guitarist by seeing John Lee Hooker.

He worked as a carpenter and mechanic, but also began a musical career playing on street corners with friends, including Jerome Green (c.1934-1973), as a band called the Hipsters (later the Langley Avenue Jive Cats). In 1951 he landed a regular spot at the 708 Club on Chicago's South Side with a repertoire influenced by Louis Jordan, John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters. He adopted the stage name Bo Diddley, which is probably a southern black slang phrase meaning "nothing at all", as in "he ain't bo diddley". Another source says it was his nickname as a teenage Golden Gloves boxer. The nickname is also linked to the diddley bow, a one-stringed instrument used in the south by mainly black musicians in the fields.

In late 1954, he teamed up with harmonica player Billy Boy Arnold, drummer Clifton James and bass player Roosevelt Jackson, and recorded demos of "I'm A Man" and "Bo Diddley". Re-recorded at Chess Studios with a backing ensemble comprising Otis Spann (piano), Lester Davenport (harmonica), Frank Kirkland (drums) and Jerome Green (maracas), and released in March 1955, the a-side, "Bo Diddley", became an R&B # 1 hit. In 1958 his debut album entitled 'Bo Diddley' was released on the Chess label in 1958. It is a compilation of his singles since 1955. It collects several of his most influential and enduring songs. - Wikipedia
(Year of Release: 1958)

Track List:
1. Bo Diddley
2. I'm A Man
3. Bring It To Jerome
4. Before You Accuse Me
5. Hey Bo Diddley
6. Dearest Darling
7. Hush Your Mouth
8. Say Boss Man
9. Diddley Daddy
10. Diddy Wah Diddy
11. Who Do You Love
12. Pretty Thing

Download: Bo Diddley - Bo Diddley (51MB)

Black Mountain - Black Mountain

Black Mountain is one of two circulating incarnations of Vancouver musician Stephen McBean—the other being the more solo oriented Pink Mountaintops. Releasing self-titled, debut albums within six months of each other, these Mountain-family bands have given nostalgic rock 'n' roll fans reason to rise. And hell, even if your record collection doesn't consist of battered vinyl copies of late '60's and early '70's drug-fueled, heavy hitters, you won't be able to resist the gritty grooves of both bands. But, this is a Black Mountain review, so on with the show.

Black Mountain opens the curtain with the first of many assertive anthems. The caustic "Modern Music" declares "One, two, three another pop explosion / One, two, three another hit recording / Four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten." – A jab at the state of modern music that makes no bones about it, and I likey. Like much of the album, it's adorned with loud guitar, screechy sax, and some killer Keith Moon/John Bonham style drumming. And if you aren't already familiar with Pink Mountaintops and their superb duet "Tourist in Your Town," you get your first taste of the soulful singing of Amber Webber who takes center stage later on "Heart of Snow."

Following the opiate groove of "Druganaut," "No Satisfaction" sounds like a sunshine alarm after the two previous shadowy efforts. Recalling the Vaselines and VU, "No Satisfaction" showcases more of McBean's cool and Webber's raw soul. The album continues with more blues, prog, and psychedelic rock detailing the sub-genres' highlights with a new and exciting perspective. Citing the Rolling Stones, Velvet Underground, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Pink Floyd among others, Black Mountain somehow succeed in keeping it fresh all along.
(Year of Release: 2005)

Track List:
1. Modern Music
2. Don't Run Our Hearts Around
3. Druganaut
4. No Satisfaction
5. Set Us Free
6. No Hits
7. Heart Of Snow
8. Faulty Times

Download: Black Mountain - Black Mountain (70MB)

VA - The Psychedelic Voyage

Someone requested this several months ago, but I was only able to find it recently. It proved extremely difficult to track down, and I couldn't find out any information about the album, other than it contains 26 tracks of rare psychedelic music from the 60's. If any of you find out more info about this release, please leave a comment.

Track List:
1. Tac Pocum System - Asmodia
2. The ones - Lady Greengrass
3. Kiss Inc - Hey There Mr. Holy Man
4. Gee Brothers - Let Me Find the Sun
5. Keith Meehan - Darkness of My Life
6. Flower Traveling Band - Satori pt1
7. Flower Traveling Band - Satori pt2
8. Lewis & Klark Expedition - Blue Revelation
9. Picadilly Line - Yellow Rainbow
10. Petards - Rainbows & Butterflys
11. Petards - Tartarex
12. Almond Lettuce - Magic Circle
13. Fickle Fickle - Sam & Sadie
14. Kaplan - I Like
15. The Admirals - In the Promised Land
16. The Shirelli - I'll Stay by Your Side
17. Jackueline Taeib - 7am
18. Vanilla fudge - Some Velvet Morning
19. The Sleepy - Loves Immortal Fire
20. The Beloved ones - Land of Shadow
21. The Rugby's - Stay With Me
22. The Pirates - Shades of Blue
23. The shames - Greenburg, clickstein, Charles, Davies, smith & jones
24. Smoke - dream of dreams
25. Smoke - my birth
26. Poppy family - shadows on my wall

Download: Various Artists - The Psychedelic Voyage (92.4MB)

German Oak - German Oak

In the strange Olympic summer of 1972, the Dusseldorf instrumental group German Oak entered the Luftschutzbunker, or Air Raid Shelter, in order to record their eponymous first LP. A free form rock band founded by a small community of 5 German hippies / "avant garde" artists back at the beginning of the 70's. Their self title effort was recorded in a WWII air raid bunker. The cover of their self title album (a militaristic image which is a portrait of the third Reich military force) provides an illustration of anger expressed by the WWII’s young generation against their parents. By consequence German Oak's music is very tortured, dark and weird, dominated by heavy, "distorted" guitar solos & rhythms. The background creates "painful" & "ambient" sequences thanks to delay echoes, electronic "fuzzy" noises & repetitive bass lines. A funkadelic/jazzy felt punctuates with discretion this grandiose, "creepy" instrumental album. A first CD reissue was offered by Witch And Warlock in 1991. Today this album is re-edited by Radioactive records (2005). In a rather discretion they also released the moody, cloudy and experimental epic-kraut "Niebenlungenieg"

Following in the footsteps of the percussive and organic Organisation and the remarkable Dom, German Oak had every reason to believe that this 3rd LP to be recorded by a Dusseldorf band would be warmly received. Unfortunately, German Oak were not only wrong in their assumptions that locals would embrace their music, but even local record shops rejected all the group's attempts to sell the albums in city outlets. Such was their lack of success that 202 of the original 213 copies were stored in the basement of the group's organist until the mid-1980s, when a thirst for undiscovered Krautrock finally brought German Oak back from the dead.
(Year of Release: 1972)

Track List:
1. Airalert
2. Down In The Bunker
3. Raid Over Dusseldorf
4. 1945 - Out of the Ashes

Download: German Oak - German Oak (60.3MB)

Freeware Music Programs

I've tried to put together a comprehensive list of freeware music programs. If you know of anything that you think should be added to the list please leave a comment. I would like to thank the members of the Neowin community for contributing many of the programs on this list.

Audio Creation:
Ambiloop - Homepage
Canorus - Homepage
CP-GFX - Homepage
Gungirl Sequencer - Homepage
HammerHead - Homepage
Jesusonic - Homepage
Jungulator - Homepage
KRISTAL Audio Engine - Homepage
LoopBe1 - Homepage
MIDI Pattern Generator 64 - Homepage
orDrumbox - Homepage
Reaper - Homepage
Smart PC Record - Homepage
Soundclub - Homepage
TuxGuitar - Homepage
Tu2 - Homepage

Audio Players:
1by1 - Homepage
Apollo 37zx - Homepage
Billy - Homepage
CoolPlayer - Homepage
DeejaySystem MK1 - Homepage
DeliPlayer. Homepage
Foobar 2000 - Homepage
iTunes - Homepage
Jet Audio Basic - Homepage
Juke - Homepage
Mixere - Homepage
Mixxx - Homepage
monoRAVEik - Homepage
MoreAmp - Homepage
MPXPlay - Homepage
Musik - Homepage
MusicIP Mixer - Homepage
musikCube - Homepage
QCD Player - Homepage
Screamer Radio - Homepage
VUPlay - Homepage
Winamp - Homepage
Xion - Homepage
XMPlay - Homepage
Zinf - Homepage

Audio Tools:
Audacity - Homepage
Balthers Graphic Groove Box - Homepage
beatharness - Homepage
BeSweet - Homepage
CUE Splitter - Homepage
dBpowerAMP Music Converter - Homepage
EffecTV - Homepage
Encounter 2003 - Homepage
Gephex - Homepage
GermaniXEncoder - Homepage
iTunes Agent - Homepage
KraMixer - Homepage
Libra - Homepage
M4a/Flac/Ogg/Ape/Mpc Tag Support Plugin for Media Player & Media Center 2005 - Homepage
MediaInfo - Homepage
MediaCoder - MediaCoder
MediaMonkey - Homepage
MP3 My MP3 Recorder - Homepage
mp3DirectCut - Homepage
MP3Gain - Homepage
mpTrim - Homepage
opcode - Homepage
SC Free Audio Extractor - Homepage
SoundEngine Free - Homepage
Vibe Streamer - Homepage
Whorld - Homepage

MP3 Tagging:
Audiograil - Homepage
AudioShell - Homepage
MP3 Book Helper - Homepage
MP3 Tag - Homepage
Mp3 Tag Tools - Homepage
TagScanner - Homepage
MusicBrainz - Homepage
The GodFather - Homepage
TigoTago - Homepage

CD Ripping:
Audiograbber - Homepage
BonkEnc - Homepage
CDex - Homepage
Exact Audio Copy - Homepage

CD/DVD Burning/Cover creation:
Burn4Free - Homepage
Burnatonce - Homepage
Burrrn - Homepage
CDBurnerXP - Homepage
CDRDAO - Homepage
cdrtfe - Homepage
CDR Tools Frontend - Homepage
Deepburner - Homepage
DVDAuthor GUI - Homepage
DVDStyler Homepage
eCover - Homepage
GUI for dvdauthor - Homepage
ImgBurn - Homepage
InfraRecorder - Homepage
ISO Recorder - Homepage
MediaCD - Homepage
SilentNight Micro CD/DVD/ISO/AUDIO Burner - Homepage
Smart CD-Menu Creator - Homepage
Ultimate CD/DVD Burner - Homepage

Compression / Decompression:
7-zip - Homepage
Alzip - Homepage
bzip2 - Homepage
Compress it - Homepage
ExtractNow - Homepage
FilZip - Homepage
Info-Zip - Homepage
IZArc - Homepage
KGB Archiver - Homepage
QuickZip - Homepage
SimplyzIP - Homepage
TUGZip - Homepage
UPX - Homepage
Zip&Go - Homepage

File Upload/Distribution Sites

I originally posted this on the DM Blogroll, but I thought I would cross post it here also.

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I've decided to start sharing other music related resources here. The main focus of this blog will always be to share all the wonderful music blogs available on the internet, but I would also like expand on that idea, and make it a great place for all things music. Next, I plan to make a list of freeware music software. If you have any ideas on music resources that I could add please leave a comment.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who is sick of Rapidshare's dominance of file uploading. There are plenty of great alternatives out there, but unfortunately they are overlooked by many. In my opinion the best sites are those which distribute files to several upload sites. These are known as file distribution sites. If you know of any that aren't on this list, please leave a comment, and I will add it. If you know of a friend or site that you frequent which is guilty of using rapidshare, please point them in this direction. Hopefully we can break people from using rapidshare.

File Upload/Distribution Sites
75d (Non-English)
Xirror (Non-English)
XLspread (Non-English)
TinyLoad
Sharebee
FTP2SHARE (Registration Required)
MirrorIT
YouMirror (Non-English)
MassMirror
ShareOnAll
FileSpreading

And the winner is....

As I said in my previous post, choosing the winner for this contest was very difficult for me. There were several entries that were my favorite throughout the contest, and I even ended up changing my mind at the last minute. Entries 1, 4, and 14 were my personal favorites, and I think any one of them would have looked great if they had been chosen as the winner. Someone left a comment saying that most of the entries looked too digital and not enough rock & roll. I would have to agree with that statement. A lot of the entries looked too clean and professional, which would have been great for a computer tech site, but I just didn't think it would be fitting of a music blog. There were banners that might have fit better with the overall design better, but in the end I had to go with entry #1 by Fill from Russia. I was captivated by his work from the very beginning, and I knew as soon as I saw it that the other participants would be hard-pressed to best him. His entry stood out to me as being the most original and artistic, which is exactly what I was hoping for. Entry #4 was a very close second, and I considered making it the winner several times, and had I not changed my mind at the last minute it would have been the winner. To everyone who participated in this contest.. I can't thank you enough for your hard work. There were many great entries, which made my decision difficult. I would also like to thank Sir Real Films and Trinity Comics for sponsoring this contest, and donating such a generous prize package. It wouldn't have been possible without them. Please visit their websites, located below, and help support two wonderful independent companies. I've added the winning banner to the header of the blog, however I'm having a little trouble out of blogger with the placement of the image. I'll try to get that fixed within the next couple of days.


Sir Reel Films - http://www.sirreelfilms.net/
Sir Reel Films Blog - http://sirreelfilms.blogspot.com
Trinity Comics/The Wraith - http://www.the-wraith.com

Sly & the Family Stone - Stand!

Stand! is the pinnacle of Sly & the Family Stone's early work, a record that represents a culmination of the group's musical vision and accomplishment. Life hinted at this record's boundless enthusiasm and blurred stylistic boundaries, yet everything simply gels here, resulting in no separation between the astounding funk, effervescent irresistible melodies, psychedelicized guitars, and deep rhythms. Add to this a sharpened sense of pop songcraft, elastic band interplay, and a flowering of Sly's social consciousness, and the result is utterly stunning. Yes, the jams ("Don't Call Me Nigger, Whitey," "Sex Machine") wind up meandering ever so slightly, but they're surrounded by utter brilliance, from the rousing call to arms of "Stand!" to the unification anthem "Everyday People" to the unstoppable "I Want to Take You Higher." All of it sounds like the Family Stone, thanks not just to the communal lead vocals but to the brilliant interplay, but each track is distinct, emphasizing a different side of their musical personality. As a result, Stand! winds up infectious and informative, invigorating and thought-provoking -- stimulating in every sense of the word. Few records of its time touched it, and Sly topped it only by offering its opposite the next time out.

Track List:
1. Stand!
2. Don't Call Me Nigger, Whitey
3. I Want To Take You Higher
4. Somebody's Watching You
5. Sing A Simple Song
6. Everyday People
7. Sex Machine
8. You Can Make It If You Try

Download: Sly & the Family Stone - Stand! (56.7MB)

Graphic Design Contest - Winner To Be Announced Tomorrow

I've finally decided on a winner for the graphic design contest. It was a tough decision, and I would like to thank everyone who participated in the contest. There were a lot of great entries, and I appreciate the work that you all did for the contest, but unfortunately there can be only one winner, and you all will find out who that is tomorrow.

Important Blog News

As some of you may already know, I recently had to take a break to deal with some personal issues that I was going through. Life is much better at the moment, so I'm able to devote time to Digital Meltd0wn once again. Once again, I would like to apologize to those who entered the banner contest. Unfortunately, the circumstances that prevented me from being online happened around the deadline of the contest. Here have a few important announcements regarding the contest and other random blog news.

Graphic Design Contest: Once again I would like to apologize to those of you who entered the graphic design contest. I am currently in the process of adding the late entries to the Flickr account. Once that is finished the only thing left for me to do is to preview how each of the banners would look on the blog if they were chosen as the winner.

last.fm account deleted: Unfortunately last.fm deleted my account a few days ago. They sent me a warning once before for displaying the url to this blog on my profile. I promptly removed the url from my profile. I can think of only one reason they would have for deleting my account. Earlier this week one of my friends on there asked me if I know where to find any albums by a band called Pond. I posted the url to a blog that I ran across which was sharing a couple of their albums. My account was deleted without warning a few days after that. Because of this the Digital Meltd0wn group I created on last.fm has a vacated leader position. I suppose I'll leave it as is, rather than create a new group. I created a new account, so if you were my friend on there before, please re-add me. Here is the url to my profile: http://last.fm/user/zer0_ii

Random Blog News:

• 
  Once I've chosen a banner for the blog, I plan to create an introductory post. This post will basically be an introduction/site map that I think will make the blog more user friendly and navigable. I also plan on creating two posts; one for requesting an album, and the other for requesting a re-upload of any album that was previously uploaded, but has since been deleted.
  


• 
  The Digital Meltd0wn Music Blogroll is coming along well. Traffic has been steadily increasing. When I first started it, I was the one asking for permission to include other's blogs on the list. Now a lot of fellow music bloggers are requesting to be put on the list. It's especially nice to see bloggers, from the blogs that I've admired for a long time, visit the site and leave comments. Even if don't run a music blog, and you know of some blogs that you think are worthy of the list, please leave a comment some time and tell me about them.
  


• 
  I've been considering adding a cbox http://cbox.ws to the blog. I've already added one to the blogroll, but it doesn't receive nearly as much traffic as this blog, and I haven't received any positive or negative opinions about it. Please let me know whether you think this is a good or bad idea.
  

I suppose that's all for now...

Samhain - Unholy Passion

First off, there's a lot of history to this EP. First, it appeared as 5 song EP on vinyl. Then it appeared on the "Initium" CD with an extra track. Then it appeared as the second half of the "Final Descent" album. Now, its back on its own. Another thing to note is that when "Unholy Passion" first game out, it featured Damien on guitar, but somewhere along the way Danzig, as he'd also done with some unrealeased Misfits' material, re-recorded the guitar parts himself (it was rumored that this was done to avoid paying Damien royalties) and I know that this was the version that originally appeared on "Final Descent" and that's also the version that appears here. So you're not really getting the original "Unholy Passion".

Secondly, this contains the 3 best songs Samhain ever recorded, those being "Unholy Passion", "The Hungry End", and "I Am Misery". "All Hell" (an updated version of the Misfits' "All Hell Breaks Loose") and "Moribund" are also good tunes. If you're not familiar Samhain's sound, the best description is sort of mid-tempo punk-goth-hard rock cross that takes its evil much more seriously than the Misfits ever did (but that doesn't mean you have to). And if you wonder why I keep mentioning the Misfits its because Samhain was Glenn Danzig's first post-Misfits project (but chances are you already know that).

There two lowpoints to this release. One is the so-called "bonus track", "Misery's Tomb", which is just the backing vocal and bass tracks of "I Am Misery". Pretty dull. You'll probably only listen to it intentionally once. Then there's the production. Like all Samhain releases, the production was pretty weak. The guitars are mixed too low and the vocals sound sort of muffled. Still, the songs, for the most part, are excellent so they make up for most of the album's weaknesses.

Track List:
1. Unholy Passion
2. All Hell
3. Moribund
4. The Hungry End
5. Misery Tomb
6. I Am Misery

Download: Samhain - Unholy Passion (23.7MB)