Happy Halloween!

Middle Class

After their amazing 1978 Out of Vogue E.P., the boys from Fullerton, Ca. dove into the arty side of punk. Though they did slow it down a bit, they never lost their musical touch. Two years later they released their second record, the Scavenged Luxury E.P. (Tortured Garden 1980) This record was just a taste of what was to come on their post/art punk Homeland LP. Enjoy!





Scavenged Luxury E.P.

Home Is Where
A Blueprint For Joy
Last Touch
Introductory Rites
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The Proletariat II

One of the greatest bands to come out of Boston alongside Mission Of Burma, all of The Proletariat's work was sheer genius. With their beginnings as a seminal hardcore band, they released tracks on the This Is Boston, Not L.A. & Unsafe At Any Speed compilations. Soma Holiday was their first full length released in 1983. The Marketplace 7'' was released in 1985.

Later that year they unveiled their greatest work yet, the Indifference LP. From start to finish, this record is a true masterpiece. Each song is spewed out with an almost melancholic, sarcastic disdain view. The title track has to be the best and by far one of the best transitions I've ever heard. Mission Of Burma's Roger Miller plays piano on An Uneasy Peace. A truly great band. Enjoy!







Indifference

Indifference
Pride
Better Man
Homeland
Columns
Sins
An Uneasy Peace
Recollections
Instinct
Trail Of Tears
The Guns Are Winning
No Real Hope/Prelude
No Real Hope
Piecework
Marketplace
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Moving Tagets

Moving Targets were another great band from Boston. Along the same lines as Mission Of Burma, Volcano Suns, later Husker Du, Squirrel Bait, you get the idea. Their first output was three ripping tracks off the 1984 These Band Could Be Gods compilation. Amazing stuff if not their best material. ( At least my favorite.) Two years later they released their first full length, Burning In Water. And three years after that they released their second, Brave Noise. These two are both amazingly great records similar to the above mentioned bands. You can find both of these here. In 1986, around the same time as the first LP, they released the Less Than Gravity 7'' (Taang! 18). It featured two songs from the first LP plus one unreleased track. Great stuff! Enjoy!





Less Than Gravity 7''

Less Than Gravity
Faith
Squares & Circles
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Rifle Sport II

Probably not as good as their first, but still worth your time. This Minneapolis-based band released their second album titled White (Ruthless Records), in 1987. A bit more rock oriented than Voice Of Reason, this album loses the sort of nervous, jangly guitar of their first. Still has some great songs though. Enjoy!





White

Green Cans
Broken Window
Ocean Wind
Experience The Pain
Pleasant Surprise
Certain Situations
King Of Trash
Liquid
Bloodline
Blackbird
Mad World
Burn Em Up
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Volcano Suns II

A week or two prior to seeing the MOB show, I finally got to see their DVD, Not A Photograph. Quite interesting for any die hard MOB fan. It's an in depth look at their past and present, including Miller & Conley's first band, The Moving Parts. One thing I was kind of disappointed in was that there was no mention of Peter Prescott's other projects. For starters his pre-MOB band, The Molls. They put out one hell of a single called White Stains in 1979. Then there was the band he started after the initial break up of MOB, Volcano Suns.

Here's their first single titled Sea Cruise (Homestead 1986). Released a year after their first album, The Bright Orange Years, this single shows them finding their own sound rather than just an MOB off shoot. Greasy Spine is a great song with it's heart throbbing bass. The title track could probably do without the Sea Cruise chorus, but that's just me. Enjoy!





Sea Cruise 7''

Sea Cruise
Greasy Spine
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Mission Of Burma

Saw them play about two or three weeks ago at the Echoplex here in Los Angeles. As always they played an amazing show. Their set included the entire Vs. album plus the Trem Two/Ok/No Way 7''. Still unbelievable after all these years. Caught a couple of pics of Clint. Not too great, but depends on how you look at them.



1982 saw the release of their second single, Trem Two (Ace Of Heart). The cover features images of all the members of the band overlayed to form one, which gives it it's double-vision look. Please excuse the pops & crackles. It is vinyl you know!
Enjoy!





Trem Two 7''

Trem Two
Ok/No Way
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100 Flowers

Some of the most intelligent, creative, & individual bands are trio's. For instance, the Minutemen, Husker Du, Mission Of Burma, just to name a few. Then there's Urinals-->100 Flowers-->Chairs Of Perception-->Urinals. By far the longest running band out of the above mentioned. Their last official release was the Drawing Fire E.P. (1984 Happy Squid 012 ). This record displays so much character & complexity, you can even attempt to take it all in upon the first listen. I never tire of songs like Contributions & Triage. The band is still going strong today. Writing new material and performing throughout the L.A. area. I believe they're heading to the east coast soon. Check here for dates. Enjoy!



Drawing Fire E.P.

Bunkers
Long Arm Of The Social Sciences
Triage
Contributions
Let's Not
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