What albums did you listen to today?...continued

I went on a 2nd wave punk/hardcore binge for a few days:

Prog Sothoth wrote: I went on a 2nd wave punk/hardcore binge for a few days: GBH - City Baby Attacked by Rats - Mean hardcore bolstered by a decent production for the style. Kind of standard fast stuff, but "Passenger on the Menu" deserves special props. I don't know if it was accidental or not, but that song winds up very difficult to comprehend musically as the guitars and vocals suddenly shift from the snare-hits to the bass-drum-hits at such weird intervals. Kinda neat sounding as a result. GBH - Midnight Madness and Beyond: Haven't played this one in ages. More diverse than CBAbR, but loses some oomph in the process at times. "Horror Story" is groovy with the organ addition. Raw Power - Screams From the Gutter: "State Oppression" is hands down one of the ultimate hardcore tracks EVER. Just a rabid ferocious blast filled with urgency. Most of the rest of the album can't compete with that masterpiece (man does it hold up well from my teen years), but the slower "Don't Let Me See It" is quite wild and cool as well. Die Kreuzen - s/t: Psychotic hardcore madness with crazed screaming vocals and jagged riffs. I feel like it must have been an influence on something, but I'm not sure what... Die Kreuzen - October File: Always loved this one. Lots of Black Sabbath influences seeping into their hardcore, along with actual singing taking over things. Very unique, as most hardcore bands that crossed into metal went the typical thrash or cheesy metal route. Not these guys. Die Kreuzen - Century Days: At this point they ditched a lot of the metal for a more proto-grunge indie deal without ditching the "loudness". Very flangy guitars abound, and more mellow tracks too. This band had quite a neat evolution in sound as time went on. Subhumans - Worlds Apart: My fav of theirs, and it's frequently brilliant. "Carry on Laughing" is some next-level of apocalyptic tension, and the musicianship throughout the album is really strong. So different from their early days, except for the lyrics, which are as political as ever. Discharge - Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing: The influence of this is undeniable, at least sonically. The sound on this album is so BEEFY, and everything is in constant propulsion. It does get tiresome for me these days after a few songs due to the repetitive nature, but it hits like a brick. The Exploited - Punks Not Dead: I wasn't a fan in the 80s, and my opinion hasn't changed. Too much of an "Oi" sound maybe, and the vocals bother me. "Sex and Violence" must be the most annoying punk song ever.

i’ve never listened to GBH, I need to get around to that.

I have a Die Kreuzen album somewhere but it’s gotten lost in the shuffle. Bought too long after my peak hardcore period
I guess.

The Subhumans completely rule, one of my favorites. Worlds Apart is only my 2nd favorite of theirs, but only because From the Cradle to the Grave is among my favorite all-time albums, and I’ve often quoted it as my favorite punk album ever. Just played it recently in fact.

The Exploited are pretty dumb, but I do enjoy that album. It’s a high school thing. I always thought Sex and Violence was a pretty fun song. Not as good as Sex Bomb by Flipper, but oh well. I have 3 of their albums in fact.

Monday 8th April of 2019

^^ yay Subhumans binge!

I can’t even pick a favorite track on Cradle. They’re all insanely good, and flow together so organically well. As for Split Vision and EP-LP, I know those the least. Split Vision seems to be a trial run for Citizen Fish (i.e. more midtempo and reggae), and EP-LP seems to have a lot of the same creative juices at work as in their later developed works, but I just need to spin it more. Might do that as early as tonight. Oh, and the “Live in a Dive” live album is pretty hot too btw.

Oh, and the Ex, abrasive though they could be (a la Crass) stayed together and their albums from the last 10-15 years (e.g. “Turn” and “Catch My Shoe”, my favorites) are quite advanced musically and very engaging - almost (almost!) prog enough to be considered as RIO/Avant on this site, or at least a Dutch Fugazi.

Edited post below

Edited by HolyMoly - April 10 2019 at 20:10

Canned Heat | Future Blues — the last one with Alan Wilson, the high-voiced slide and harp player who was the coolest thing about this band IMO . No slight to main singer Bob Hite, a great frontman, but Wilson provided “Going Up the Country” (not on this album, but you probably know it) and several other similarly unique tunes that provided a cool counterpoint to the more conventional blues/boogie this band had. Wilson actually committed suicide in 1970 just before this album was released, and he practically dominates this album with his unique approach. What a sad loss.

Canned Heat | Boogie with Canned Heat — 2nd album, and first to be a hit. Has Wilson’s first hit On the Road Again, practically a drone/raga blues number, really eerie.

Can | Monster Movie — I love Can.

Don Bradshaw-Leather | The Distance Between Us — Guldbamsen hipped me to this years ago. Still one of those Holy Grail records I’m always hoping to find in a store. Of course I could buy it on Discogs today, if I wanted to blow $500+ clams on it.

The Dead C | Eusa Kills — New Zealand noise rock, one of their early ones circa 1990 or so. One of my favorite bands, this might be their most song-like release, as their albums are normally very abstract and freeform.

Car Seat Headrest | Twin Fantasy (orig 2011 version) — I followed this guy when he was a Bandcamp artist, and this was the first album I heard by him. Though it was his next Bandcamp album “Nervous Young Man” that blew me away. But this is considered his “breakout” album, such that he re-recorded it a couple of years ago with a full band and released both versions in one package in a double CD.

This Kind of Punishment | s/t — also New Zealand-based from the 80s. Very spare experimental post-punk indie rock. Singer/writer/pianist/drummer Peter Jefferies first captured my ear in the early 90s when I was listening to college radio and heard a really gnarly song (“Dear Boss”, check it out). It was a solo track and I got the song title and name and it took about a year to find one of his albums. The albums from his prior band recently went back in print (vinyl) by a cool label called Superior Viaduct, so I jumped on that. Just as captivating as his solo stuff, and having the added advantage of additional collaborators and vocalists, including his brother Graeme.

Ty Segall | Freedom’s Goblin — psychedelic garage rocker with a prolific output (probably nearing 20 albums by now), this 2018 release might be my favorite I’ve heard. It’s really structured like a good double vinyl LP and has a very well produced sound and variety of moods. A good place to start with this guy. He’s done a lot of very messy noisy albums but this one is very tight and consistent.

Finnforest wrote: I always enjoyed this Canned Heat live clip

loved that ... thanks! Alan Wilson in action, and the whole band sharing a joint on stage.

Subhumans - The Day the Country Died: Seems to be their most well known release, and it's good, but probably my least favorite of their major output. I prefer the EPs for the rowdier stuff, and the stuff that came after for being more adventurous. Dig the lyrics and attitude though.

Subhumans | EP-LP — driving home music. But after 30 minutes or so I got the urge to play:

Subhumans | From the Cradle to the Grave — mind-blowing. Been kicking my ass for 30+ years. The meaning of life in punk form.

The Jam | EP (Absolute Beginners/Funeral Pyre) — nice little vinyl EP with 2 of my favorite Jam tunes

Adam and the Ants | Dirk Wears White Sox — random vinyl pick from the wife’s collection. Very cool post-punk, quite different from the sound he became famous for.

Subhumans | Live in a Dive — great live album with great sound

Subhumans | Time Flies But Aeroplanes Crash EP / Rats EP — “Rats” was the first Subhumans song I ever heard. Still one of their best. Dig the psychedelic coda.

Sloan | Action Pact — since discovering Sloan a couple of years ago, I’m convinced they are everything I’d hoped Cheap Trick would be but never was. This album has 2 of my favorite Sloan songs, Live On and The Rest of My Life.
Awesome power pop.

Buttsteak | Fatty’s Got More Blood — Just juvenile 90s punk, a bit of a whimsical buy back then. Not that great.

Elliott Smith | Figure 8 — first listen to this one. Crafty British guitar pop by a one-man-band who offed himself shortly after. Tortured genius stuff. I’m slowly warming up to it. Sounds nice, definitely.

Edited by HolyMoly - April 11 2019 at 20:58

I looked further into that great Canned Heat track you posted cause it’s not on any of my albums. Apparently it’s a bonus track on a later issue of the Future Blues album I have. I’ll have to seek that out now. It may be Alan Wilson’s last song before his suicide. :(

Edited by HolyMoly - April 11 2019 at 21:01