Electric Horsemen - EP (2006)

Great Stoner Sludge from Lancaster, PA - Eyehategod, Crowbar, Graves at Sea meet in a bloody death match. No one gets out alive.

Thanks to Brother Butcher for this one. Some of you from PA might know this band, but they bring the hurtin. The music is very sludgy, but it still has the metallic bite and crunch that makes Metal kick so much ass. The vocals are either sung by two people or the guy has a split personality. One side of the vocals as ragged tracheal death that goes very well for the spit-in-your-face breakdowns, and the other side contains an ounce mroe soul, though blackened and evil, as should be the case. The second voice is closer to singing and works especially well with the sludgier, stonier parts. All in all the two sounds, amongst instruments and vocalists, keep the Horsemen from sounding too much like any other Stoner Sludge band.

This is a worthy submission into the sludge realm. Prepare for a beatdown.

http://www.myspace.com/electrichorsemen

On The Might Of Princes - (Reissues)

Where You Are And Where You Want To Be (2002)


The Making Of A Conversation (1999)
thanks to Papstar for the link!

Originally released in 2002, Long Islands On the Might of Princes second album is a perfect late entry into the second wave of what could be known as Emo. Emo is a difficult term. Mostly because the people that made the music to be called emo never intended it to be and many were dismayed to called as such. The people who liked the music, never liked the term emo either, so it leaves me wondering, how did super, abrasive punk rock with screamed, shredded vocals get to be known as Emo? It mustve been someone elses doing. Regardless, to further confuse "facts", when bands like Sunny Day Real Estate and Christie Front Drive and yes, Promise Ring, started to become known as Emo, it seems there was a slightly more fitting nature in that relationship, yet almost none to the previous incarnation of emo that existed from about 85 to the early 90's. I pretty much can't bring myself to think of Sunny Day Real Estate as emo, yet Mineral is nothing but Emo. I'm confusing myself already. And, of course we all know of the even more recent, "3rd Wave" of emo that has little to nothing to do with either of the first two "waves" and instead is just a bastardization of all that music stands for.... EMOTION!

These facts notwithstanding, I feel that the second grouping of bands falls closer to what should be called Emo, and OTMOP falls into this grouping. Mineral meets Cursive meets early Promise Ring, form a gang and get into a fight with first wavers Heroin, Merel and Moss Icon and VOILA! you have this messy, heaping, screaming mess of catharsis and twinkling romantics, punctuated ever so lovingly with the obligatory tear here and there. Yes, Im a poet. This kind of music should be called emo, not just because it is emotional (because then Converge could be called emo as well as Minor Threat) but because it is dripping with longing and anguish. We all know that Emo has become somewhat of a secondary term for "Wimpy" and in retrospect, all those bands (mentioned above) really fit the term as it has developed. Not that they are wimpy per-say, but they do stick fairly closely to the high-school love dilemmas of most kids these days. And we also know, that no matter how old we get, if we have a heart and arent just out for the Poon, then these same difficulties arise with almost every love interest until the day we die. So it is with that general recognition of the mushyness of love, the pain that goes along with it, and the longing for loves one past, that On The Might of Princes is not only rightly called "Emo" but also as relevant today as they couldve been in the mid 90's and as they most-likely will be in another decade.

The remasters sound alot better and there are three extra bonus tracks, released through Revelation Records.

Cry your eyes out.

Life at These Speeds - s/t (2004)

Great album full of catchy, cathartic screamy punk hardcore. These guys are from Oregon, and while they certainly arent doing anything new, they definitely know how to do it. A little piano is thrown in from time to time, but most of the songs are full on ragers with all sorts of sections and parts through each song. Very reminiscent of mid 90's emo hardcore.

Mouthpiece - What Was Said (1993)

By Request:

Mouthpiece, also known as Chain of Strength Jr., were an Old School styled, straightedge hardcore band from NJ. They were famous for their youth crew style approach when it wasnt all the rage to do that style (as it became so fashionable in the later part of the decade). They had a very simple sound but a great vocalist and passion to match. They played great live, and I was thankful to see them with both Lifetime on one occasion and with 108 on another occasion.

This album features their amazing first 7" with by far one of the best hardcore songs ever, Can We Win....

Enjoy, and I am now taking requests.... I will post a bunch of Avail in a week or so, but in the mean time, lets trade... tell me what you want, I or someone else can help out, and maybe you have something we want too.

Thanks guys, Cheers!

Converge - Halo In a Haystack (1994)

I dont have proper artwork for this, but this is one of the more important records in my lifetime. At a time when chugging metal riffs were becoming the trend, and Hydra Head was just a though in someone mind, Converge were tossing real deal metal into their almost emo-core hardcore styles. With Jacob Bannons poetry and Kurt Ballous ingenious guitar playing and the rest of the bands incredible back-up, Converge cemented themselves name in progressive hardcore from the start. While Converge suprised us all by adding more technical death metal and industrial grime to their recordings, it is nowhere more apparent that Converge were fans of 80's metal than on Halo In A Haystack, their legendary, out of print first LP. Trebelly guitar leads meet with furious hardcore breakdowns and cry-if-youre-human vocal delivery juxtaposed with shredded vocal outpourings and twinkling indierock style guitars...

I know most of these songs were rereleased on the Caring and Killing comp from Equal Vision (originally Lost and Found records, notorious for releasing awesome releases in which the band never got paid) but you can compete with the original tracklist in its original order. Not to mention there are a few songs here that never made it to the Caring and Killing release. Anyway, my friend hated this record with a passion, and I loved it so much, and he had one of the last ones, even back then they were limited, and he lent it to me, and I had it forever, and then I gave it back to him one day and he promptly sold it... I was so mad, I told him I wouldve bought it from him... I felt like I shouldve never given it back...He was the same kid with the Crud Is a Cult record and a Moondog demo 7" that he sold back also... I felt so dissed. Just bad timing I guess... Well, here it all is for you to enjoy....


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I found a few more cassette tapes of mine. One is a hardcore comp from some girl that has some good stuff.. it has the Threadbare 7" on it, so I'll try to get that up soon, and then I have the Channel 7" and a Barrit 7", and I think the Jesuit 1st 7" is on that tape too. So it looks like I will be around, just not as much...

For those that were still interested in a combined attack of musical blogging, just hit me up here, or find me on myspace. Im still down for that....

V/A - OVER THE EDGE, Volume 1 (1993)

"In 1993 a well known but troubled label called Endless Fight released a 14 song compilation with some of the groups that were playing frequently along the Northern East Coast of the US. You would have either seen their name in a zine or read it on a flyer at one time or another. Many releases from this label were pretty damn solid but I believe that it eventually folded in on itself for reasons that I can’t really remember. Regardless Vol 1 of this compilation turned me on to many great New England and other area new comers.

A few standout tracks would be; Shift who played a nice rock influenced brand of Quicksandy hardcore whose female drummer went on to play in Hole & Motley Crue I think. Their track is actually one of their heavier ones from their back catalog as it wasn’t too often you would hear them bust out a break down like in the middle of this track. Jasta 14 features a very young Jamey Hatebreed on vocals (or as you could have guess, Jamey Jasta). This was a great track and I’m regretting not being able to locate my Jasta 14 demo these days. Overcast as you know went on to turn a lot of heads with their early brand of metallic hardcore. Mayday as well was a great sample of a band ahead of their time. The Converge track is from early on and you can hear a big difference in their approach. Vocally Mr. Bannon seems to be going for a bit more of a Starkweather feel. Dive would round out this comp with more of their brutal take on music. All in all this compilation served its purpose by turning this young kid onto many new and exciting bands of this time." (from Coregasm)

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I had bought this tape from Trash American Style in Danbury, CT. Trash was THE store for the area, having had a relationship with Revelation records in its early New Haven days and having a lot to do with the local scenes spanning most of Connecticut and southern New York. They also had a close connection with a certain, notorious GG Allen, releasing some of his "work" and a bunch of his videos (yuck). Unfortunately it seems thay have closed due to some landlord issues, but nonetheless, it was the best store I had ever known. It ran on a barter system as well as a cash system, though they preferred barter. They sold old and new records, books, and other assorted things. They had a very impressive collection of rare records that I have yet to see the likes of again and they had the coolest people int he world working there. I even met Ray Cappo once while shopping there. He was a cool guy who I had previously met at the Tune Inn in New Haven, and it was funny that Trash was one of his favorite stores too. Well, Trash always kept local things at the desk, and they had this tape there, from Endless Fight Records. I had not really heard of any of these bands at the time, but the price was right and I had some credit from my recent barter (I probably sold back a bunch of records I regret selling now, ce'st la vie) so I picked up the tape figuring that hardcore comps were usually pretty good and you could easilly sample new bands...

Well, agreeing with the above quote from COREGASM, i have to say I liked all those same songs the most. I do have to add a few things though. The Shift song was my favorite, and shortly after, they released their Pathos EP on Equal Vision which became legendary. Though Shift was known for their "Quicksandyness" it is very unapparent on this version of No Avail. This version sounds like they are tough asses thudding you with chunky breakdowns and misanthropic vocals about being stabbed int he back. Overall this is laughable, cuz Shift was anything but tough, but so it goes, good tough ass song. Jasta 14 song is great, I never liked Hatebreed, but Jasta did good work with this band. This was the first I heard Overcast, and I have to say, I like my metal and they were pretty much straight on metal. I have to agree with Proven Hollow that I liked Brian Fairs vocals, and even like some of his thrashier work with Shadows Fall, but the real gem was the Overcast LP, Fight Ambition to Kill. Great metal record that I really need to have again. I think you can order it still from Edison distro. Anyway, this song kicks, the sample at the beginning is amazing, Dennis Hopper, I think, "I'll send ya a love letter.... Sraight from my Heart Fucker! You know what a love letter is? Its a bullet from a FUCKIN GUN! FUCKER. You get a love letter from me... yer FUCKED FOREVER! YOU UNDERSTAND FUCK?! I'LL SEND YA STRAIGHT TA HELL, FUCKER!!". The end of the song is nice and Sludgy too. Mayday song rocks, I need more from this group too. Good tough hardcore. Of course the Converge song is classic, Divinity, one of my favorite songs from the Halo In a Haystack LP. And I have to add that the two Dissolve songs are both Sludgy kick you in the face songs that are unreasonably heavy for their time. They were from Poughkeepsie, NY and didnt do much besides this and 7". The rest of the songs are okay, but you can pass them by... the good ones are really good though, and bring back tons of memories...

1. Shift - No Avail
2. Jasta 14 - Broken Records
3. Overcast - As a Whole
4. Mayday - Arcane Eye
5. Time's Expired - Total Awareness
6. Malachi Krunch - I'm De Kat
7. Dissolve – Wire
8. Dissolve – Ambition
9. Frostbite – Traditions
10. Alert – Penance (That Song)
11. Converge – Divinity
12. Age of Reason – Portrait
13. In-Line – I Survive
14. Dive – Now They Run / The Water Drove Her Crazy

Rorschach - Autopsy

Rorschach are a notorius hardcore band from Jersey in the early 90's. Definitely one of the most unique and asskicking hardcore bands from the time, and even since. Some grueling blend of Black Flag, and the Melvins, with a nice dose of crusty chaos thrown in. Their sound is tough and creative enough to give you a sucker punch every few moments, fast enough to still be hardcore punk, and dark and evil enough to sound like these guys could walk right over. I never saw Rorschach, and I regret missing it. But we can still listen to them and get our asses kicked, thanks to Maize.

The only band that came off as tough as this was Integrity and the only band who sounded as raw as this Groundwork. But Rorschach stood on their own ground and were unrivaled until their end and subsequent forming of other inventive and progressive thinking hardcore bands such as Die 116, Deadguy and Kiss it Goodbye

This is it.

This is a bunch of stuff that I wouldve gotten around to posting. I am taking a break from the computer for a bit. Of course I will still be on, but mostly just to bullshit and see whats new. Mostly I just have a bunch of things I really need to do. I'm getting a new dog tomorrow, and on top of that it being summer, and, importantly, I need to absorb a good deal of the stuff I have picked up over the past few months. It has been a fever pitch of music frenzy.

Alot of this stuff is in conjunction with the mid 90's hardcore posts we've been getting into lately, and this is most of what I have left from that era. I am sure there is more, and there are one or two things I'll probably post here or there, but this is the majority.

Also, I can't find good artwork for most of these, so we're getting down to bare bones here. If anyone has some decent artwork they can provide that would be cool.

Downcast - LP (1991)
The LP was kind of a let down after the ferocious debut 7". But most of the problem lies with the second half of the album, as the first half is pretty strong. There is a bit more metal and even the songs that dont work as well have some pretty awesome parts which make this still a worthy effort.

Union of Uranus - To This Bearer of Truth
I'd say if Orchid were influenced by one band it mustve been UoU. Their style of screamo seems to be the beginning of the frantic, almost grind like screamo of the northeast. UoU were from Ottawa Canada and shared the scene with fellow label mates Shotmaker whom they also share some similarities. This might be the whole discography, but I am not certain. They were an even more elusive band than Shotmaker.

Frail - Make Your Own Noise
PA hardcore that was also ont he beginning edge of scream-your-head-off emo style. They had a nice chaotic style, but could still lock down into a sick groove. A bunch of skinny kids on stage, ripping shit up, getting frantic with their guitars. Good stuff. They had some stuff on Yuletide as well as Bloodlink and a song on the Ebullition come Some Ideas Are Poisonous.

Guyver-One - 7"
Super frantic early screamo from none other than San Diego. Very similar to Swing Kids, Antioch Arrow, Clikatat Ikatowi and Heroin (theres gotta be something in the water there). The funny thing about this record is the Grandmaster Flash and Sugar Hill Gang records playing in the background of the recording... Very similar to the Indian Summer song Angry Son, with the Bessie Smith record playing... Funny, and then the band cuts your entrails out with a swift razor sharp blast and youre not laughing anymore.... until the next break when you can hear more old school hip-hop. Yay.

Native Nod - Today Puberty, Tomorrow The World
They are a personal favorite of mine. Native Nod is Chris Leo, Ted Leos brother. They are another band with a slinty spidey sense of when to ratchet up the tension. Leo's lyrics are mostly spoken word until he begins to explode from the neck up. Back to Mimsey from the Bread 7" is one of my favorite songs from this era. It would go on a "Best of Mid-90's Hardcore That Isnt Syracuse Hardline, Old School or NYHC" list. Tangled is also a classic emo track. This is their disco.

Assfactor 4 - s/t LP
Wonderfully fast and to the point hardcore punk from Georgia. Assfactor 4 are somewhere closer to Los Crudos in style. Shorty fiery blasts with screechy vocals.

Julia - Unknown Bloodlink records album
Julia had a member of Unbroken, who were nothing at all like them. Julia was more like Portraits of Past. One of the first bands to add a decent amount of post-rock in to this style of hardcore, paving the way for bands like A Day in Black and White and City of Caterpilar. They also share a fair amount of influence from mid 80's DC sounds.

Merel - Discography
Another originator of the scream your head off style, but with far more driving power than the blinding frenzy of much of ehat is considered emo hardcore. Quite a bit more force and power too, yet still retaining a good balance of melody and experimentation.

Mohinder - Discography
Pre-Indian Summer band. A little more frenzy than the subdued approach of Indian Summer though.

Ordination of Aaron - Discography
Can you tell I'm losing steam. More good emo for dat ass.

Policy of Three - Discography (Disc 1)

Policy of Three - Discography (Disc 2)
likewise... alot of this stuff shares components of the DC scene, whether from the revolution summer stuff to the early 90's discordant stuff. DC really helped form the face of hardcore, and its ripples can be felt through most of the bands on this list.

Current - Discography
Definitely for Current. They even did a cover of Embrace for the Land of Greed comp. (You can find that in the first three or four posts in the archives.. Its the whole Embrace album covered by hardcore band. Some really good bands and really good covers...) Current has a lot of sound in common with both Rites of Spring and Embrace, yet still have a more discordant punk sound that sets them apart from being just clones. The Coliseum album was pretty good, and this is the whole Disco...

Spitboy - True Self Revealed
Spitboy is great punk hardcore from Ebullition. Sometimes it reminds me of Econochrist, but there is a bit more actual singing, some of which sounds like Jello Biafra. It gives a much more punk edge ala Dead Kennedys of course, and even has some Black Flag in its blood.

Orchid - Chaos Is Me
Orchid are about the craziest you can get with the fall-on-the-floor style of screamo. It heavily toes the line of Grind, yet also has a dynamic influence from UoU . Most of it is skittering and top-speed. They manage to weave a great deal of emotion into these short songs and leave you and themselves completely exhausted. It is also easy to see why they are such a divisive point for hardcore. They can be too much at times, but they also can scalp you with a shitty recording and leave you wanting more. "How do they do that?" its all about the delivery man. These guys are no slouches either. Half the band went to Brooklyn and started Panthers, (ahem whoo kinda suck) and the others went on to try to destroy screamo all together in Bucket Full of Teeth (look in the archive), perfect political hardcore punk in Wolves, try to one-up their previous work in Ampere and also find time to experiment with a more Boston style (meaning early Hydra Head / Converge) in Transistor Transistor. I am sure these guys will never tire of trying to chop peoples heads off with sound.

The Sorts

Common Time - 1995


More There - 1998

The Sorts sorta completes the Hoover geneology. Christopher Farrall plays drums for the Sorts with Joshua LaRue from Rain Like the Sound of Trains and Sevens and Stuart Fletcher plays a very nice bass. All three went on to play in Sea Tiger with Joseph P. and Joeseph played in the Sorts on their last release Six Plus. Its such a complicated web. The Sorts sounds way more like RLT/SOT and Sevens than any other Hoover related band. LaRues guitar playing is something to behold and the bass and drums lock in perfectly, toying around with every little tangent. The songs are mostly instrumental, but LaRue sings occasionally, and hes not that bad. More There is an awesome album everyone should have and Common Time is more basic, but still pretty jazzy and awesome.

The Crownhate Ruin - Until the Eagle Grins (1996)

This nearly completes the Hoover progression. The Crownhate Ruin were formed immediately after the demise of Hoover in 95. With Fred Erskine on Bass and Joseph P. McRedmond on guitar and vocals and Vin Novara from 1.6 band on drums. The sound is pretty much the same as Hoover, with the record starting off with one of those fat funky Erskine basslines. Some of the passages are more drawn out, giving the band room to explores some of the terrain that Hoover savagely broke through. I guess you could say its got a bit more electrolux than Hoover but not as much as Regulatorwatts. Can you even speak of these bands without talking about all the bands they went on to be in? Hardly. I believe Erskine was in June of 44 at the same time as TCR. What a time for music.

Mihai Edrisch

www.mihaiedrisch.com

Good screamo from France, with an ever slightly slinty sense of dynamics.... I believe they are broken up, but they give away both of their albums at their website. l'un sans l'autre - 2003 is the better of the two in my opinion. un jour sans lendemain - 2005 is also pretty good, but i just feel the sounds on the first one more, all zingy highs and lots of treble. It sounds like a mix of Maximillian Colby and Shotmaker with out the heft, and maybe a bit of Indian Summers prettyness...

By the way...

I really like having all of you around. We got a good group of people and I always love when more people join the discussions...

I love that everyone is from all over the place and we're all on this kick for hardcore from the 90's... It seems like this music has taken on a new life, with younger people hearing about these bands being legendary, how the number of bands has grown, and so on and so forth... but none of these bands were anything back in the day. I mean, sure, I thought each and everyone of them were heroes in their own way, but as far as exposure, most of these bands got next to none... and I think that mostly, due to the lack of internet life at that time, we had no way of hearing everything, or meeting everyone. Some people were lucky to be from places with good scenes... but there was still a lack of flow regarding information. And now all of us find each other, loving all this music, probably being one of the few you personally know who can still geek out over music. I talk my girlfriends ear of sometimes about the dumbest shit, like how cool this Avail show was back in high school, and all the goings on of all these punks and hardcore kids, and shes like, "uhhhh yeah? wow, isnt that something."

So you see, I'm taking a long time to say Thanks to everyone that strolls on by and hangs for a few moments... It's been fun. soooo. some posts?

more 7"s

Age of Reason - s/t 7"

I am not entirely sure when this came out, but it mustve been from 93-95. Age of Reason were a hardcore band from Connecticut. They play a style similar to what Converge started out with. Slighty metallic but mostly hardcore, with a few breakdowns, but none of the chuggin mid tempo mosh of Syracuse and Buffalo bands.. (Not that theres anything wrong with that stuff ^_^ ).



Fugazi - Furniture (2001)

Arriving just around the time The Argument was released, Fugazi gave us one of their oldest tracks. Im sure most people would say that this ep is worth it just for the song Furniture. And it is. Dont get me wrong. It fits perfectly with all the stuff on 13 songs. It has the same bouncy punch and the harder guitars. Ian screaming, and you can imagine them blasting your head off while playing this live. But! To cast a negligent shadow on the other two songs would be silly. #5 and Hello Morning are also very good songs and worth the same price. They are both newer songs, from The Argument era, one a pounding instrumental and the other an unholy racket led by Guy. Hello Morning is almost a barn burner. It is one of the faster songs in the late Fugazi years and it works good with Guys howl.



Struggle. - s/t 7" (1991)

This is one of my favorite hardcore records from the 90's, along with the Downcast 7". Super fierce and ass kicking hardcore from San Diego. Struggle paved the way for a good portion of hardcore bands in the mid 90's not even including all the bands the members went on to. All in all, this stuff boils down to a bunch of kids screaming about how pissed they are at the government. But you gotta admire the urgency of their message, and the chunky kick ass riffs they use to ram it down your throat. If they were selling car insurance I would be ready to bomb any motherfucker who wasnt ready to buy.


Absinthe - s/t 10" (1995)

Absinthe is the remains of the amazing Arizona hardcore band Groundwork. I posted some of their stuff a while back and had wished I could post this then. Absinthe are very similar to Groundwork in style and sound, though the lyrics seem to be more from an anti-religious stance as to the heavy political commentary of the previous band. (Funny enough, Four Hundred Years, were a band of another key member of Groundwork and they went on to continue the political fight for our nations freedom). The sounds lurch and propel you forward, pushing you into this whir of machinery like sound. The guitars sound like buzzing metal and the vocals sound drowned in static like the machinery is taking over the record. But the steady gut punch of the bass and drums keeps you focused and steadily moving. A few cleverly placed samples break the hum of the machine occasionly only to give loose to the frightening crunch once again.
Definitely good stuff. I wish I had more hardcore like this.


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Well, works been getting real busy, so I'm gonna be in and out. I have more records to post up and then I think I am gonna be taking a break for a few weeks. So stay tuned for the rest of my dwindled vinyl collection and have fun.

Econochrist

Another Victim 7" (1991)


Skewed 7" (1993)

Fast, angry politico punk hardcore from the Bay Area. Great basslines, snarling vocals, and an all around crusty feel make Econochrist stand out in a crowd. There was certainly no shortage of angry politcal punk and hardcore. Still isn't. Though intelligent lyrics still remain a key factor, it all came down to sound in the long run. Econochrist were originators of their scene, fusing Crass rebellion into west coast hardcore songs.

^_^

Paris Hilton had to go back to jail.

How funny is life sometimes?

Paris is crying...

I wish people would stop letting the Paris Hiltons of the world get their way.

It is shameful. Even Martha Stewart did her time....

America is great - America sucks ... No wonder people hate us...

dont get me wrong, its not like we have wars raging on our soil. its not like we have food shortages (quite the opposite). its not like we have terrible lives over here. But something is wrong....very fucking wrong... There is a certain essence of life that is missing in the publics eye....

Where are the Kent McClards of today? Where are the Weathermen groups of today?

We suck on greed. Suck it like were sucking for life. Suck it like were sucking a dick.

yeah. thats what it is.. Americans spend alot of time on their knees sucking dick, getting fatter, lazier, needier...

right where the Bushes and Cheneys of the world want us...

Suck, America, suck.

Updates and Stufffff...

Updates!

Hmmm... I am at work...so I have to move quick...

It seems I am having a hard time finding the right connections for my turntable to mac set-up...
I bought this thing called iMic from Griffin. Supposedly you can just hook the turntable right into it, but my turtable is older and needs a ground... So I tried hooking it through my receiver with the Tape Out line. It worked but now it is only recording on one channel. I messed with preferences, both system and program, but I cant seem to make it work. So I recorded the track anyway, then I brought it into GarageBand and layered the track and selected Mono instead of Stereo. That seems to work, but the volume is really low. So by fiddling with the settings in GarageBand and layering the track two to three or four times I am able to have the volume appear normal when playing in iTunes.

Then I save the file (Export to iTunes) and then I have to convert the file to mp3 so one 7" isnt 100MB. It works, but then its gets difficult cuz all the records are recorded at different levels, so I have to layer them differently from record to record. Considering they are not great recordings anyway, it works out pretty nicely.

So I recorded the Struggle 7", Guyver-One 7", and two Econochrist 7"s. Then I realized in my fiddling that I had not reconnected the turntable ground!!! So i checked all my tracks in iTunes and anytime the music quiets down there is an buzz in the monitors... Oh well, back to square one. I re-did the Guyver-One and Struggle 7"s, but I am also gonna try to mess with the equalization to see if I can boost some of the bass and mids... Later this week I will post the above mentioned 7"s and then I will get around to putting some other albums I have up..

For the meantime, I am fixing the Dischord post and I need to add a few links to the sidebars.

Stuffff!!!

Now, I have had these albums for a few weeks now...maybe only one week actually, but it feels like a month, so, as it goes, here are all the records I was provided from a number of you. I am gonna refrain from naming those who contributed because I am short on time, and I cant remember everyone off the top of my head. You know who you are and chances are the others here know who you are too. Thank you very much, you have enriched my life with angsty, punk fury and dark, groovy dissonance. I havent had much time to absorb all of these so I dont have much to say right now, but they are all completely awesome, that much I am sure of....


Abilene - s/t (2000)


Abilene - Two Guns, Twin Arrows (2002)

Hoover related band. More Relectrolux / Electrodub than Electrolux. Super dark grooves and subtle dynamics


Regulator Watts - The Aesthetics of No-Drag (1997)


Regulator Watts - The Mercury CD (1998)

Regulator Watts (or Regulatorwatts) are an earlier extension from the Hoover-pus. Way more Electrolux than Abilene. Still dark and moody, but far more explosive release.


Sevens - 777 / 12 12 & s/t LP (1995/96/96)

A post-Soulside band featuring both of the Sullivan brothers, Chris Farral from Hoover, Josh Larue from Rain Like the Sound of Trains and later the Sorts, and a suprise appearance from Joe Lally on the first 7" (777). Funky groovy rock with a socially conscious vibe. Dare I say granola? ^_^


Rain Like The Sound of Trains - s/t discography (1994)

An yet earlier post-Soulside band featuring Bobby Sullivan and Josh LaRue, Doug Birdzell from Beefeater and Pete Chamriec from Verbal Assault. Not what youd expect. Groovy and funky like the later Sevens, but still retaining a bit of the punk sound. Not much though. You get the feeling guys who like the dead might like this stuff.


Born Against - 9 Patriotic Hymns for Children (1991)


Born Against - Battle Hymns for the Race War (1993)


Born Against - The Rebel Sound of Shit and Failure (1995)

Born Against were the most punk of the hardcore bands in the ealry 90's. Their aesthetic embodied the revolutionary ideal that punk stood for. It also adheres to the toungue in cheek sarcasm that punk has also idealised for so long. The music is fast and powerful. I'd say they rank up as one of the best bands to ever materialize out of the hardcore scene at the time.


Antioch Arrow - In Love With Jetts / Lady Is a Cat (1993)

I didnt get this from anyone, but it is a great record featuring members of Heroin, Get Hustle and Evergreen. Born from the same San Diego scene as Heroin and using the same strengths as that band, they marked an early evolution in the San Diego hardcore scene.


Hidden in Buildings - Draw Your Sword and I Am Not Alone (2004)

Now this has nothing to do with any of the above mentioned bands, in members, sound or style. I actually dont know anything about this band, or if they are even a band. But they are from Canada...i think....
Think Godspeed You Black Emperor mixed with equal parts Explosions in the Sky, DJ Shadow, Ninja Tune Records and Boards of Canada. I had to nix track 3 cuz it was messed up. If anyone knows anything about these guys, let me know...

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That concludes my first part of catching up. I started this post at work, but it is midnight now. I have since fiddled with my turntable set up some more, and it is kind of working but I am still frustrated that it wont just record the L and R channels...

If anyone has any pointers, hook me up! I'll have some of the stuff up later this week....

Holy shit...

I am busy!

So sorry to not be around. I made a bunch of promises to up all the stuff Proven Hollow had given me, and now I have the turntable adapter so I can rip my vinyl, but I havent even been able to use it.

It is my 2 year anniversary with Lara tonight. I am taking her to this neat outdoor restaurant in SOHO... If its nice this weekend I may find myself biking all over the city again.

Last weekend Lara and I biked from Bushwick, Brooklyn to Prospect Park via the Williamsburg Bridge and then the Brooklyn Bridge. Amazing times... Then Sunday we biked into Queens and went over the Queensboro Bridge over to Central Park. We biked around the park. Another amazing time. Both times we bought our dog Mo, who had an amazing time. Then on Monday we biked all the way to Coney Island. It was a super long journey but totally worth it...

We hung on the beach, no swimming of course (haha! dont EVER swim at Coney Island. Yuck!) and then decided we wanted to ride the infamous Cyclone rollercoaster. The Cyclone is legendary. It has been around since the 20's and is made of wood, and I had heard many rumours that it is the scariest rollercoaster ever. Well.....It is....It is completely terrifying!!!

We had the last seat which you can feel lifiting off the tracks on at least 10 occasions! You know how they take pictures of roller coaster riders? Well our pictures were hilarious. I wish we purchased them, cuz both of us were holding on for dear life. HAHA!!

When we walked away my knees were shaky, my head felt stirred up and I couldnt speak very well. I think riding the Cyclone is like having sex, but without the orgasm. You just get the wobbly knees and stupid head. haha!!

We hung in Coney for a bit longer, and then it was back to home and chillin on the roof drinking rum. Not a bad weekend if I must say.

Well, I must got to lunch.... We will reconvene sometime this weekend.

Peace.