Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Visa de Censure n°X - Pierre Clémenti

Like a cracked out Kenneth Anger. This is trippy. Need to get my hands on this guys work...





Sunday, January 23, 2011

Francis Bebey - la condition masculine

In trying to find some more minimal synth albums, this guys fucking single pops up all over the place. Its interesting for 1975 I guess. More of a historical artifact than something i'd listen to. The lyrics are supposedly( I don't understand French) extremely sexist. So there's that. Enjoy!

Ann Steel - My Time

I know I posted this song before, but HOLY SHIT THERE'S AN AWESOME LIVE PERFORMANCE! Friends, this is why the internet exists. I can't handle how amazing this is. Where the fuck is she now? Why hasn't this been re-released? The world may never know...

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Timmy's Organism - Rise of the Green Gorilla


With more distortion drenched wah wah guitar fury than your little turd of a brain can handle comes Timmy's Organism straight out of Detroit, Michigan. How have I never heard of this Timmy guy before? Immediately after hearing this album I went out bought all this guys output I could find which includes Human Eye and Clone Defects. Both bands equally impressive in their own right do not hold a candle to anything on Rise of the Green Gorilla!

The opening song "Ugly Dream" has drums like plastic oil barrels that just fucking pummel you into submission, while searing hot guitar flames shoot off into the stratosphere only to pull you back down and drag your filthy face into the mud and grime of an abandoned Detroit factory floor. Timmy's voice bellows as if he's rallying a call for all burnouts, freaks, and mutants to assemble against some other worldly danger. The laughing at the end of this song only solidifies in my mind that this man is possessed by the power of rock n roll in its most pure form and we are only here to bear witness to its awesome endowment.

There are tracks on this album that come so far outa left field I'm just floored and jealous that I didn't come up with it first. Take "Oafeus Gods" for instance. What the hell is holding this song together? It sounds like a rusted old machine with nuts and bolts flying off , the gears are grinding, and yet its still trucking, with Timmy singing like he's the most carefree guy in world. I am completely enamoured and entranced by it.

Then comes "Building the Friend-ship" and you fucking GET this band. An instrumental to the likes of Eno's "Golden Hours" (which isn't instrumental) having stinky monkey sex with with the early Chrome output. Its haunting, weird and when that guitar part comes in, stunning. Like aliens trying to replicate what music is supposed to sound like and failing, but in an oh-so-good way.

"Give it to me Baby" is punk infused garage rock spewing neon green keyboard bile all over your orifices. " Impregnate the Martian Queen" is a jaunting little diddy with garage rock vocal musings over decaying synthesizers and broken guitar equipment. "Move to the Sun Wave" is retard E.T. cowboy crooning at its fucked up finest. And sheesh, we have finally reached the summit of "Silver Mountain" a meditative spoken word mood piece, complete with synth farts and squiggles to make for freaky time. The closer "The Traveler" is a harrowing walk through somber and gentle guitar lines that leave you in another state of mind entirely different from the beginning of the record but still fits in the same universe as the record was made in. Get that?

They say that music releases dopamine in the brain, even releases it when you just think about a particular piece of music. Dopamine must be spilling out my eyeballs by the time I'm done listening to this record. Truly a magnificent release. Go. Go now and get this. Make an alter around your turntable, transform into a mutant ape creature, start a fire in the middle of your room, and bask in the glory that is Timmy's Organism Rise of the Green Gorilla. I'd also advise you to soak up whatever green slime is pouring out of this guys plastic cerebellum in the future, in fact get a bucket and save some for me.



Wednesday, January 19, 2011

NDW (Neue Deutsche Welle)

I just sent my friend Rixa from Germany (aka Germland where the Germs live) a gigantic list of music that I've been looking for on the vinyls. The list has some Krautrock rarities like A.R. & Machines "Echo" (jesus christ this is hard to get) and Walter Wegmuller - "Tarot" (With original Tarot cards, its worth more than your first born baby) but the majority is made up of NDW artists.

Neue Deutsche Welle is the German New Wave that took place between 1978-1984. True to form there was an underground NDW and a mainstream NDW movement. Both shared success in the German music market. However, I will primarily focus on the underground NDW artists.

If punk rock was a reaction to over bloated prog rock and disco, than NDW was a reaction to Krautrock and Berlin school electronics. I guess NDW bands reactionary idea was to take music further, and freakier in a shorter amount of time. The movement indeed took the technical electronic achievements of say Kraftwerk and put them through the punk filter. The music reminds me of taking CAN's "Vitamin C" and fucking with it by adding distorted guitars, weird synth plunks and farts until something musically retarded, yet deliciously inventive comes out of the mix. Also a lot of industrial strength La Dusseldorf and the spazztronics of Faust flung into the pot.

What makes these artists different from say the U.K. or U.S. New Wave movements is the sheer amount of studio fuckery and willingness to with go normal music conventions to make something that is truly OUT THERE. I can't stress that enough. You will either absolutely love it or HATE IT. This is not Goth, not Post-punk, and definitely notSynth Pop. NDW is its own island in the music universe.

Lets not forget these Germans youths were ANGRY even when they were dancing! Yet for however many crazy sound effects, angry shouts and lo-fi it got, what was consistent was rhythm, rhythm, rhythm! The drums be smacking yo! Its like handicapped funk music made by irritated, unibrowed German youths (watch the videos).

I just danced around my living room in front of my girlfriend like a crazy loon listening to these jams. She's all like, what the fuck is this shit and I just kept dancing. She didn't mind cause I don't dance outside of the confines of our apartment because i'm a gay mans dream (inside joke that shouldn't be on this blog). Enjoy the music.
















I think this live video shows off NDW at its best. hahaha






I had to add this duhhh.







Monday, January 17, 2011

John Foxx

Ultravox, Foxx's first band is cool, especially Systems of Romance, but Metamatic is where its at son. Bleak and creepy synths over tortured wimpish British man cries, with excellent bass lines and danceable drum beats make for what I consider a lost classic album. Here's two early music videos off the album.



Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Gary Numan Live

Blizzard pt. 2 on its way. Gary Numan on the turntable... Is it just me or are his late 70's/early 80's live shows absolutely fascinating? The lighting and stages mixed with the heavy synth sound create this incredibly oppressive and powerful mood. Like Orwells 1984, right around the corner, was indeed about to fulfill some terrible prophecy.





Your gonna be jelous of your eyes for seeing this first.




Friends if you were to buy me or make me those spinning pink glowing pyramids and give them to me as a house warming gift... I wouldn't say no!

Monday, January 10, 2011

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Crash Course in Science - Cardboard Lamb

Just hearing the audio I couldn't tell if this was an old band or a new one. So many bands these days try hard as hell to sound like some weirdo band from the late 70's early 80's. But hey, I'm not complaining.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Monday, January 3, 2011

Dark Sea Dream - Shock Doctrine

Just got Dark Sea Dreams self titled album off of itunes thanks to my previous internship's lovely 50 dollar gift certificate. My first music purchase of 2011 and its wowing me pretty good. Doom metal guys that worship My Bloody Valentine? Yes please! Pretty epic stuff here that leaves all the metal pretensions at the door (and hey some of the MBV ones too). Damn, I may even double dip and get the vinyl release and you should too you cheap bastard.