Saturday, December 29, 2007

Gorilla Biscuits

I'm sure most of you already know the Gorilla Biscuits. But if you don't, they have to be one of the greatest bands to ever come out of New York. In 1987 they released a demo tape. (Which just went for like $140 on Ebay!) 1988 saw the release of their much acclaimed self titled 7" E.P. & the first full length Start Today was released in 1989. Here we got a great bootleg of their 1986 Demos that I believe was released in 1991. And rare find to come by as it only saw 1,000 pressed. This one's numbered 667. These recordings also hold the only song (with the exception of Distance) that has not been on any other release. Control Yourself is a great song. One of my favorites in fact. In Your Head is just Biscuit Power with a different title. So all you GB fans out there, enjoy! More great music to come, maybe some videos?






1986 Demos

No Reason Why
Big Mouth
Better Than You
In Your Head
Control Yourself
Finish What You Started
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Get It
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Tuesday, December 25, 2007

Kingface

Kingface was another one of those highly underrated bands. They came out of the D.C. scene in the late eighties. Unlike other bands like Soul Side, Rites of Spring, & Gray Matter, they had more of a rock approach rather than melodic. In 1987 they released their 6 song self titled 12"(Self-Released). From the opening harmonica in Crawl Into Tomorrow, to the self-reflective lyrics in Like A King, not one track is a let down. Great music and definitely worth a listen. I believe they did put out one other record and a few live bootlegs, but I haven't tracked them down yet. Dischord released a discography in '95. Here's a nice link to some background info and discography.



Kingface

Crawl Into Tomorrow
I Don't Want To Be Anything
Lull-A-Bye
Anyone
Lick The Moon
Like A King
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Get It
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Sunday, December 16, 2007

Man Sized Action

Here's another interesting & sadly overlooked Midwest band. Though a bit more obscure, with rhythmic drums, hypnotizing guitar, & throbbing bass, these guys created a sound all their own. Man Sized Action were from Minneapolis, Minnesota. This cold vacuum of space gave birth to many great bands. MSA had a small catalogue, releasing only two full lengths & a few songs on two different comps. Here we have their first album Claustrophobia (Reflex 1983). Simple yet never boring, each song takes you on it's on little journey. Especially the title track, what a hell of a depressing ride that one is! Last Days Of Man On Earth did a post on their second album Five Story Garage. (Link Found Below) This album is pure obscurity. Fantastic obscurity. A must have.

http://www.lastdaysofmanonearth.com/blog/?p=72

Now scince this is one of my favorite bands, I'm gonna include their live stuff also. Perhaps their best recorded material, their tracks off the Barefoot & Pregnant Comp. (1982) & the Kitten Comp. (1983) are all live. There's a few tracks here not found on either of their albums. Great Stuff. Unfortunatley I have not tracked down the original tapes so these comp. tracks come from the CD reissue. Claustrophobia is taken from the original vinyl. Download, enjoy, & comment if you like them!




Claustrophobia
Pressure Relief
Bubble Bursts
Who's Kiddin' Who
Don't Wanna
Private Eye
Self Respect
My Life
Looking At You
Yea
Claustrophobia




Barefoot & Pregnant
Yea!
Everybody's Happy
Pressure Relief
I Hit Girls

Kitten

Only You
Self-Respect

Thursday, December 13, 2007

The Fix

The Fix originated in Lansing, Michigan. They had only 3 official releases: Vengeance 7", Jan's Room E.P., & the Process of Elimination E.P. Comp. All of these were released on Touch and Go. The original releases are all very rare and usually very expensive. Here we have an amazing live set from 1981. It comes from the Cold Days LP released on Lost and Found. Side A consists of the Vengeance Session and the Jan's Room Session, while the B Side has an entire live set. This is a Grade-A midwest cut right here. It's like a slab of raw meat getting thrown right in your face. Reminiscent of Husker Du's Land Speed Record for it's break-neck speed and mere seconds pause between each song. Bursting with fury, speed, & whole lotta stamina.

Cold Days (B-side)
Vengeance/The Letter
Famous
Off The War
In This Town
Rat Patrol
Statement
Candy Store
Cold Days
Teenage Life/I'm A Believer
Cos The Elite

Thursday, December 6, 2007

Dead Silence

I heared a story yesterday of some 19 yr. old in Kentucky (I think) mall that shot like 8 people and then himself. Police said there was a suicide note left behind that said "I wanted to go out in style, and now at least I'll be famous". Disgust. The first thing that comes to mind. The many selfish & ignorant worms that slither & crawl amongst us in this world. Disgusting.

Reminds of story portrayed in a song. "Sally" has to be one of the greatest songs that Colorado's Dead Silence ever wrote. It was released on the Hope 7" Timekiller Records 1989. A story is told of a girl so hopeless & small, so empty & weary. Death by one's own self his her "only" solution. Pure distain towards people of this matter is heared through & through in Kevin Vulture's haunting voice. Art. Story telling at it's best. From the streets that is. Now although I personally prefer the slightly faster version on the Metal Gives Us A Headache E.P. ( link found below) a bit more, this one is still great. On the B-side we got Faith River (minor scuff on this one) which is the lesser of the three. Victim Of Yourself is another adrenaline rushed adventure that pounds into your head. Great stuff. Their whole catalog is worth tracking down. You will not be disappointed. Also included in the file is a scan of the lyrics for Sally. With a song like this, you need to know every word bellowing from your speakers.

http://www.somethingilearned.com/2006/06/dead-silence




Hope 7"

Sally
Faith River
Victim Of Yourself

http://www.zshare.net/download/5433257d828929/

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

Double O

Diehard D.C. Fans, this one's for you! Double O were one of thee MOST underated bands to ever come out of D.C. Their only official release was 1983's Self Titled E.P. on Dischord/R&B. They also had one song on the Charred Remains Tape. In 1982, they recorded several demos that was later released as Double Barreled 2x7" bootleg. Very rare and very raw, these demos display a much more standard D.C. hardcore sound. Although not quite up to par with their E.P., they are still an essential piece of D.C. hardcore history. Vocalist Eric L. would also go on to front Dove, while bassist Bert Q. (D.C.'s best bassist!) would aslo play in Second Wind and Rain. Now scince these are demos the audio quality ain't the best, but I'm sure most of you fans out there (You know who you are) won't mind one bit. "No Reply" is still one of the best D.C. hardcore songs ever! But that's just my opinion. Listen & find out for yourself!





Double Barreled 2x7"

Fade Out
No Limits
No Limits II
No Reply
No Reply II
No Reply III
Putting D.C. On The Map
Take A Position
Take A Position II
Take A Position III
The End
The End II
The End III
Unknown
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Get It
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Sunday, December 2, 2007

Naked Raygun

What's to say about these Chicago legends? In honor of Raygun playing here in L.A. next week, I thought I post a couple of their singles. Anyone who's been lucky enough to see them recently, knows that they still got IT! I was able to see them last year in Chicago at the Riot Fest and what a hell of a show it was! As if Raygun wasn't enough, The Effigies, Bollweevils, 7 Seconds, & The Business played. I was talking with Micky from The Business before the show and I asked him what the hell happened with Steve? And he said "We got Divorced." Kinda sad, but hey we all know shit happens! Anyways back to Raygun, now I'm sure most of you fan's know they just played Riot Fest again a few weeks ago and are currently on a whole west coast tour right now. So if they're playing near you, GO SEE THEM! You won't be sorry. They'll be here in L.A. on Friday 12/7 at the Knitting Factory & Saturday 12/8 at Alex's Bar in Long Beach.

Now here we got their 1987 Vanilla Blue 7" & 1989 Treason 12". Both are a bit rare and both have tracks unavailable on any other releases. The B-side to Vanilla Blue (Slim-The Second Coming of Christ) is a nice tribute to actor Slim Pickens. The B-side to Treason has got two nice unreleased live versions of Mr. Gridlock & I Don't Know. So if you don't have them, get em here.
More great music to come!


Vanilla Blue 7"
Vanilla Blue
Slim (The Second Coming of Christ)

Treason 12"
Treason
Mr. Gridlock
I Don't Know

Saturday, December 1, 2007

Reptile House

Hello & welcome to my first blog. I've always loved blogs like these that give you access to so much rare, hard to find, & out of print music. Two things though that I see on many sites: 1. Many sites seem to post the same material that has already been posted on other blogs 2. Some sites post material stating they're vinyl, but are actually CD rips. I hope to change these things with this blog. So with this said, everything on this blog will be 100% vinyl(unless otherwise noted)& hopefully not found on any other site(unless otherwise noted).
So here we are with my first post. The first half of this post can be found on the now defunct? Something I Learned Today. Not sure whether or not the link is still active, but this band needs to be known. A band called Reptile House from Baltimore, Maryland. They were loosely affiliated with the D.C./Dischord scene. Now although Dischord has always been dedicated to releasing strictly D.C. bands, there were some exceptions. Void & Reptile House were those exceptions. Reptile House released one song on the Bouncing Babies Comp on Fountain of Youth 1984, one 7" E.P. titled I Stumble As The Crow Flies on Dischord/Druid Hill 1985, & one full length titled Listen To The Powersoul on Merkin 1988. Lead singer Daniel Higgs is one hell of a lyricist. The title of this blog derives from his words.
"I have a brain in my head
I have a brain in my ass
Both with the same thing in mind
Both determined to guide me
Through my life: minus a memory"
Sleekstak Weather

All of their material is a great listen. Each song has it's own unique style unlike anything else heard. Daniel Higgs would later go on to create Lungfish. Another great Baltimore band that Dischord signed. So give them a listen & comment if you like em! Stay Tuned! More great music to come!



Bouncing Babies Comp

Talons & Claws

I Stumble As The Crow Flies E.P.

Keel-Haul Love
Social Champion
Mrs. Rain
Sleekstak Weather




Listen To The Powersoul

Power Soul
Ike's Hammer
Evil Iron Any Day Now
Para PolyAnna
Engine
Mother Michigan
Sky Head