MY DAD IS DEAD- CHOPPING DOWN THE FAMILY TREE

My Dad Is Dead has quickly risen to the top of my non-existent but very important list of bands-that-should-be-a-big-deal-but-no-one-gives-a-hoot-about. Formed by drummer Mark Edwards after the dissolution of his previous outfit, MDID hit the ground running despite the fact that Edwards recorded his first album after only playing guitar and writing songs for about a year. This is about six years after the debut and believe me, you will be in awe of how masterful and tasteful someone can be at their instrument after such a relatively short period of time.

I'm not sure where MDID lies musically. Elements of goth, post-punk and psych-rock are constantly tugging at one another but it's all focused on so perfectly by Edwards' songwriting which is distinctly late 80's/early 90's indie rock. I don't know what it is but I will call it genius and I will call it catchy as hell!

Also I love this lyric:

"Give me a cross... and I will carry it/ Show me a feeling... and I will bury it"

HERE

AT THE DRIVE-IN - RELATIONSHIP OF COMMAND

I listened to this gem of poppy, spaced-out post-hardcore for the first time in about five years today and it has not aged as poorly as I assumed it would have. The guitar playing still sounds like beacons from distant satellites, the melodies still worm into your brain like robotic-insects intent on harvesting your sanity, and the rhythm section still drives the songs but the heaviness of the drums and bass was lost on my younger self... Oh yeah, the vocals are FUCKING PERFECT! I don't know how to accurately describe them but for this type of music, it's exactly what I want. 'One-Armed Scissor' is still the jam

HERE

MY DAD IS DEAD- THE TALLER YOU ARE, THE SHORTER YOU GET

This is good. 80's home-recording project with a drum machine. Layers of awesome guitar playing, super depressing lyrics, vocals that kind of sound like early REM and really good songwriting. If you like anything lo-fi, indie-rock, kind of weird or depressing then this is a little gem of a record for you. Oh yeah, this was on Homestead, so you know it's some 80's indie goodness.

HERE

BIG BLACK- RICH MAN'S EIGHT TRACK TAPE

If you are like me and came of age in the late 90's or early 2000's then you no doubt bought CD's when shopping for music. Why wouldn't you? They were fairly cheap (depending on how dedicated you were to buying music and looking for good deals) and basically the only way to obtain the majority of releases. I never gave much thought about why CD's had replaced vinyl or cassettes and my naive little brain was quick to assume that it must be because CD's sounded better than vinyl!

So fast forward to about 2005: I was finding that a lot of music I wanted to buy was either not available unless I got it specially ordered and if it was available, it was really expensive. Black Sabbath CD's were only $7.99 but other bands' albums (like Big Black's) were as much as $20... I bought the Rich Man's Eight Track Tape on CD for $22.99 because I had only heard Jordan Minnesota and knew this was a band I needed to know inside-out. Keep in mind, this was before I could just go online and find a download of any album in about two minutes. When I got home and removed the shrink wrap and the annoying-as-fuck security stickers Touch-and-Go loved to put on their jewel cases I popped it into my stereo and was instantly pleased. I began reading the love-letter to CD's Steve Albini had penned inside the insert:

"THIS COMPACT DISC, COMPILED TO EXPLOIT THOSE OF YOU GULLIBLE ENOUGH TO OWN THE BASTARDLY FIRST-GENERATION DIGITAL HOME MUSIC SYSTEM, CONTAINS ALL-ANALOG MASTERS. COMPACT DISCS ARE QUITE DURABLE, THIS BEING THEIR ONLY ADVANTAGE OVER REAL MUSIC MEDIA, YOU SHOULD TAKE EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO SCRATCH THEM, FINGERPRINT THEM AND EAT EGG AND BACON SANDWICHES OFF THEM. DON'T WORRY ABOUT THEIR LONGEVITY AS PHILLIPS WILL PRONOUNCE THEM OBSOLETE WHEN THE NEXT PHASE OF THE MARKET-SQUEEZING TECHNOLOGY BONANZA BEGINS."

All analog? Real music media? By now I was not only interested in the mind behind this writing but what he was getting at. I was introduced to the mind and music of Steve Albini from there on. Needless to say, it changed the way I viewed the music industry, music production and obviously, music media. And oh yeah, the music was punishing, fucked up and really catchy.

HERE

THE WIPERS- FOLLOW BLIND

I know, I know. "only the first three Wipers albums are good!"... whatever. People who only like the first three records are like people who think 'TV Party' is Black Flag's best song. The Wipers first three records all sound different, have no significant similarities in the songwriting and I will never understand why people like to lump them together as the only good records the band ever made. Don't get me wrong, I adore Is This Real? and Over the Edge but the fourth, fifth and sixth records are actually more cohesive than Youth of America, an album marred by uneven songwriting yet consistently adored by people... definitely something wrong with me!

On to this gem. Follow Blind is the band's sixth album and boy, is this some sad, subdued and spooky shit. Sage definitely tones down the distortion and rage on this one and goes for a more introspective/DEPRESSED theme. His guitar playing really carries this one, whammy bar in full effect for those nice subtle dives... this is a perfect record for those days when you wake up and realize that no matter what you do that day, nothing will make you happy!

HERE