A definite love 'em or hate 'em band. I've never really understood the amount of hatred/indifference towards this band since their biggest fan was none other than legendary taste-maker and all around A+ music fan John Peel. Lover of snob-boner bands such as The Fall, Pavement, Joy Division, etc. I mean, come on! it's just indie pop. Blindingly fast, pounding drums, constantly strummed guitars and Dave Gedge singing as best as his awful voice will allow! 
Just waiting around for a special lady to take me to a museum. In the meantime, here's one of the best POP-punk albums I've ever heard. This band has hooks so big they will literally dig into you but what makes it so good is the constant speed, intensity and layer of distortion over top of everything. I haven't listened to this album more than a few times yet but definitely one of the best I've heard this year... yes I know it's from 94. I rarely enjoy music made by new bands, save for hardcore. sue me!
Just some good, kind of gothy anarcho-punk for you to enjoy. It's got throbbing bass, really weird guitar playing and reverberated-to-shit drumming... the vocals are cool too. I don't hear this band mentioned very often, especially over lesser anarcho bands like Poison Girls, Anthrax(UK!) or Zounds... shame because this record is really cool and more than just some tinny guitar playing a 1-3-5 progression and some dude with charged-hair yelling about rich people. Did I mention it was kind of gothy? 
Procrastination. Definitely supposed to be studying for an art history exam right now but the idea that some people may not have heard this popped into my head and became infinitely more important. 
Heard this for the first time the other day and oof... this is what garage rock should sound like. Dripping with fuzz and stoned-angst while being sung by someone who can scream like a banshee as well as seduce you with a haunting croon. Oddly enough, the singer for this here band is none other than Fred Cole of Dead Moon! Cool hey! Guy is in obscure one-and-done sixties garage band then goes on to form one of the most prolific and well-loved garage/punk/DIY bands of all time! Not that I'm saying Dead Moon are on everyone's shelf or anything but I've never met someone that didn't like 'em!
Post-hardcore from Kentucky in the early 90's. Nothing more, nothing less. If you like Shellac then you'll dig it. Fierce drumming
Today I went to my city's urban-center to buy some books my folks wanted for christmas. Aside from scoring a copy of Daniel Johnston's art-book for twenty bucks as well as the stuff I was looking for, it was pure hell. Masses of people all shuffling around, no one smiling, people shoving into other people while saying "excuse me" under their breath and not bothering to make eye contact, eyeing that bluray Friends boxset they can't wait to get their greasy little mitts on (sorry Grace!)... this time of year really does suck.
Oh yes, I just bought a copy of this gem from the guy who used to run the label back in '94! It's being mailed straight from Dayton, Ohio! To keep it short, this is a split 7" between two "bands" who's members are all just people from Guided by Voices. Curiously, Bob Pollard is absent from this entirely but it doesn't matter a bit. Side A, aka Bevil Web, is Tobin Sprout at his very best and side B, aka 3 Dream Bag, is material penned by Greg Demos... which is surprisingly great! If you're into golden era GBV or just lo-fi pop in general then get on this!
I am posting this because I think it's still maligned as a shitty album by even some very serious fans but I am here to try and convince you otherwise! Now, Black Flag are great, obviously, but how long they stayed great is one of the most divisive arguments among fans. Me, I think this is it. This is truly the last great, yet awkward grasp at making a defining album that would cement the band's legacy. 
This one is for my fellow wimps. If you like lo-fi pop songs that are sad as fuck then this is the shit. The one deterrent for a lot of people is this: the whole album is one shitty keyboard and one man who can barely sing. Why is it worthwhile? The caliber of songwriting here is incredible. The stories in these songs are so relatable and heartbreaking for anyone who's ever pined for someone who doesn't notice you, been dumped because you were an idiot or just felt like no matter what, you were going to die alone. Imagine GBV played by one guy in his room on a casio SK-1! Yeah, I know, "weak!" right? fuck off, I gots feelings and unfortunately Void doesn't really relate to all of them... 
This is one of my favourite Neil Young albums and as far as I can tell, it's not really included in the cannon of his greatest albums. A damn shame really, as this is his best synthesis of country-balladry and drunken guitar-wailing. It was widely unavailable and fairly unknown for a long time because it was not transferred to CD or reissued after its 1977 release. Thankfully about eight years ago it was reissued alongside On the Beach and a few other not-so-greats... 
Do you like Black Metal? There are two kinds of hipsters I often notice. Those who are unconsciously apolitical, buy everything aside from food at urban outfitters, exclusively listen to whatever currently occupies pitchfork's 'best new music' and go to more fashion blogs than music blogs. On the other side of the coin are hipsters who are very political (whether or not they know what they're talking about is irrelevant now,) try very hard to be weird in ominous ways (ironically dress like 90's goths, listen to Death in June or other bands that are of dubious morals,) post weird pictures on tumblr of suburban kids in knockoff Nike shirts that were taken with digital cameras made in 2001 and oh yeah... LISTEN TO BLACK METAL! 
Guided by Voices are my favourite band. I'm a sucker for good pop songs and Bob/Toby are my Lennon/McCartney. As a nice favor to their fans, they basically write and record at least two albums worth of material every year. One release that never gets attention as an official LP despite it's 20+ tracklisting of all original recordings, is this gem. Honestly, this is as good as the golden-era LP's and if you haven't heard it yet, you must check it out for 'Dayton Ohio 19 something and 5" alone.
This is a hardcore record. Describing it beyond the fact that it is pissed off, catchy, loud and well recorded is pointless, as I'm sure this is on a thousand blogs already but maybe you haven't been to those blogs. If you like Infest or Youth of Today then you should like this... I guess...
Jon Spencer, Neil Haggerty. Blues Explosion. Royal Trux... Even though for all intensive purposes this is Spencer's band, this is the blueprint for everything Haggerty would go on to do. i.e. music that kind of sucks but is labeled as cool and/or interesting so you MUST love it.
Last night among drunken ramblings between me and a friend were Tobin Sprout rarities, New Order vs. Joy Division and the fact that my friend loves Pavement and hasn't heard the bonus material that came with the Slanted & Enchanted reissue. Thinking about it, I suppose a lot of people probably haven't bothered to go beyond the album, which is a damn shame because Pavement really had something magical going on those first few years. The bonus tracks on that reissue rival the album and these days I probably listen to them more than anything else the band ever did. This is just the bonus disc but there's also some great shit on the first disc as well. Sorry if you're among the many who hate this band
It just occurred to me that I have not listened to this album in at least three years and that I have not seen this on any of the blogs I frequent... so here it is for you! 
While on the sludgy tip, let's give a nod to the masters. The monotony of Gluey Porch Treatments' endless sludge, The brevity and dynamics toyed with on OZMA and the synthesis of those qualities that resulted in the perfection that was Bullhead. Where does a band go when, in the minds of fans, they've made a perfect record? well, the answer turned out to be going where no one expected. Starting off your eagerly anticipated follow up with a nearly 20-minute two-song suite centered around two very slow and basic riffs, following that with a Flipper cover, two Alice Cooper covers and then an oddly haunting song to end things on a weird note... not exactly Who's Next. I hated this record the first time I heard it, waited a few years and hey! It's now great! If you're new to the Melvins I recommend the aforementioned Bullhead or the follow up to this, Houdini. Stay away from recent efforts
This record is the ultimate in filthy, harrowing and disgusting hatred/depression. Those two emotions are the ones chiefly at play here and Dystopia have mastered them like no one else. Musically this is super depressing sludge, a la Grief, clashing head on with Disfear. Now sure, that doesn't sound entirely compelling but the song structures, riffs, shared vocals and use of samples really make this stand out from other bands who wander the same sonic wasteland. Another thing going for this band is their mastery of tension/release. The intro of 'Learning With Intent to Fail' demonstrates this quite wonderfully.
I'm tired and I won't go into any detail about this. All I'll say is that this record is probably better than you think it is. If you don't like guitars and feeling good then don't even bother.
A melodic, 90's emo band named after a Misfits lyric... based on that sentence alone I guess you'll know if you're interested in this or not. These guys sound like Sunny Day Real Estate and are from the same era. They were kind of a next-big-thing band but as they were poised to start working on their first major-label album, they realized they just didn't want to be a band anymore. Too bad but hey, if the 90's had a surplus of anything, it was great emo bands. They also have a self-titled EP that's worth checking out
Man. This is one of those records perfect for the days when it gets dark at 4:30. The Raymond Brake inhabited that wonderful North Carolina scene in the early 90's but never really achieved any of the notoriety bestowed upon Archers of Loaf or Polvo... or even other southeast acts such as Grifters, which is a damn shame. This is a fine record of alternate tunings, nice singing, varied songwriting and that perfect mix of depression and the boredom of geographic isolation. Musically these guys are basically a mix between the more melodic passages of Polvo and the anthemic qualities of Archers although there is enough variation in these songs that you never feel like they were just ripping off their buddies. Sadly, no one ever gave a shit and they called it quits. Their singer now plays indie-folk in San Francisco's Vetiver with dudes who wear fedoras... they are signed to the eternal source of new and exciting American music, Sub Pop... People change, I guess...
This is one of the best hardcore records you will ever hear and in my opinion, the best one to ever come from Japan... Very Negative Approach styled vocals, super fast, great riffs and also decent production... because they didn't need to mask their generic songs and shitty singing with layers of static. I'm sure this record is old news to hardcore nerds but most people do not fall into that category. 
There is no music on this. This is completely as advertised. 40 tracks of Kyle MacLachlan's character from David Lynch's Twin Peaks recording case-updates for his FBI secretary Dianne. These are of no value to those who haven't seen the show or who don't enjoy these asides within the episodes but as the show's primary source of comic relief, they are great to have here, isolated like this. Coffee, traveling, existential philosophy, character observations, all delivered with that unmistakable Dale Cooper enthusiasm. Really, just a fun listen, nothing more.
I feel like this is not commonly mentioned alongside Born in The USA, Born to Run, Nebraska, Darkness, etc... A shame really, because this double LP boasts everything fantastic about the Boss and if you want an intro that strays from his more recognizable songs, which can sometimes cloud an attempt to discover an artist, this is perfect. Rockers, pop songs, ballads, story telling... this is classic Bruce and from 1980 so you know he was basically on top of his game when this was cut. 
Short and sweet: This is a side project featuring the joint songwriting of Bob Pollard and Mac McCaughan. 90's wet-dream much? Surprisingly, not really. The music here sounds very subdued for McCaughan and very polished for Pollard. Apparently they wrote the songs by mailing bits and pieces of the songs to each other until they were satisfied with the results. A cool concept and a nice record for this time of year but given the names associated, it could be a disappointment to those expecting anything that sounds like either of their band's music. The best indication I can give is that the cover art definitely suits this one. 
Pretentious fucks and ironic _____ers suck in equal measure. I may be both on some days but I still hold this band near and dear. It irks me to no end when either of the aforementioned types dismiss or 'love' this record and the band's early work. Go listen GISM or Girls you turds
Powerviolence rules, ok? ok, now that we're clear on that, on to this hot little item. Featuring former members of Infest(!) No Comment(!) and Lack of Interest(!) So, if those names mean nothing to you then I would check out all those bands. Why? because they rip and dip like few can. If you're familiar with those acts then you are already salivating and thinking that this is too good to be true. Honestly, I think it's a fucking great record that adds a little bit of spit-shine in the production department that powerviolence usually lacks, which puts it on par with some of my favourite Infest recordings.
I'm officially on a Bob Mould kick, so here is some more from the master. Sugar formed a few years after Husker Du broke up, likely because Bob still wanted the band experience and had some amazing songs kicking around that didn't suit his 12-string acoustic. So, we get Copper Blue. This is so 90's, so poppy, so glossy and fuck me, so perfect. I love this album like few others. Awesome guitar playing and the drums are recorded to really punch through it all. To some this will definitely sound like just another 90's record but if you're into later Husker Du, this is just a more focused set of songs that sees Bob freed from the idea of writing songs that fit that band's mold and trying out some bigger hooks. Pop bliss
This is a solid record. Whether or not it's outstanding is up to the listener. Consensus is that Polvo never bettered it while the opinion among people I've actually talked to IN REAL LIFE is that Exploded Drawing is perfect... to be honest, this is more focused and thus, gets my vote. 
So I'm sure by now you've noticed that I like pop punk and believe me, I am aware that the mere image of those two words together is enough to make some people shudder in disgust. To those people I say "fuck you" and something about not judging books by their covers or how not all music is supposed to be 'cool'... 
It's been awhile since I posted some metal and I think it's important that I do so because aside from hipster-approved metal (Sunn 0))), Boris, Mastodon, well known black metal, etc) I feel like genre-inclusive blogs such as mine don't post a lot of traditionally 'metal' records. So today I give you Artillery! I'll keep it quick. Good production, growly-yet-melodic vocals, technical song-structures, solos-a-plenty and oh yeah, some downright circle-pit worthy riffage. This lies on that awesome border between bay-area thrash and early florida death metal. This record is not essential but it is a fun listen none-the-less. Not for posers... tee-hee
ugh. Fuck school. This is the debut from Shoppers and amidst the sea of shit we call music these days, this band does something both new and good. It's very hard to describe using comparisons, so I won't. Essentially, this is very loud and very noisy but underneath the volume and static are these really driving and simple punk songs. Ok, so maybe that description immediately makes you think of Japanese hardcore and you're thinking "uh, this isn't new and original at all then..." but believe me, I say 'punk' songs because that's the only way to describe the structure and melodic approach. This sounds different than whatever my description may conjure. Maybe it's the intentional layers of static, maybe it's the female vocals, maybe it's some sort of cosmic force... only Shoppers know!!!
U.S. Maple are a band that took a long time to make sense to me. I briefly investigated at age fifteen when I first became interested in bands like Shellac, because I'd heard they occupied a similar niche. Well, I fucking hated it, to put it nicely. I just assumed it was another one of those bands that I would never get and anyone who did was simply doing so for the sake of conversation... fast forward six years and hey! shit is great! I'm hearing everything I didn't hear the first time around! maybe my six years of listening have expanded my palette or maybe I've become one of those douchebags I assumed were the only people capable of liking this in the first place. Probably the latter...
I heard this album for the very first time about two hours ago. I was so unexpectedly floored that I had to post it ASAP. My only knowledge of this band is that when my friends went to see Modest Mouse in 2004, they opened and, according to my one friend, were unbearably shitty. I never bothered since all he said was 'folky ska with violin'... yeah, that does sound really shitty. 
NOOOOOOO MOOOOOOOORE!!!! For me this is as good as any hardcore record ever made by Black Flag, Bad Brains, Minor Threat or anyone else. Youth of Today were a special band and I think that gets lost in their politics, being one of the first bands to make straight-edge and animal-rights a lyrical concern on this level, I do understand. I think they really defined what hardcore was in the mid 80's though. More than anyone else, the influence of their songwriting and guitar playing can be heard in almost every modern hardcore band that values the old-school, from Rival Mob to Cult-Ritual. A real classic
This is another one of those 'proto-metal-why-don't-more-people-know-about-this?' records and shit, this one smokes! The guitar is so thick and fuzzed-out and it cannot wait for the next solo, meanwhile the singer sounds like he's just escaped from an asylum and found his true calling... more boogie than doom but man... think a faster Grand Funk with more sloppy abandon
