Song Of The Week: "Summer Sucks" (Void)

Yeah, fuck summer. Who needs it? See, I can say that now that it's officially over. Truth be told, I'm a huge fan of summer, but I'm also a huge fan of Void. I can understand their aversion to the season, being from DC and whatnot. But this post is really just a celebration of finally hearing a handful of Void tracks I haven't heard in 17 years of fanhood. The SOTW was all made possible by the the bootleg LP which contains both of the band's demos ("Hit and Run" being the one I hadn't heard) and a live set. While none of the tracks beat the greatness of the band's split tracks, I love Void in such profound and profane ways that this was just an amazing find.

"Summer Sucks" by Void (from the "Hit & Run" Demo)

Living In (pause) Suburban Wasteland...

When I first heard the "Flex Your Head" Comp, I was instantly on a mission to find more Void and Artificial Peace stuff. At the time, the Void/Faith split was an easy find. Artificial Peace was a different situation. I was lucky enough to stumble a few years later upon this disc put out by Lost & Found "Records." As you can easily see, it collects every studio recording by Artificial Peace, as well as the entire "Double Image" LP by Marginal Man (the (punk) rock band members would form later). So the math works out like this: 11 tracks by Marginal Man; 37 (!) tracks by Artificial Peace; 48 tracks total; 100 MBs. AP really didn't write much material, so many of the tracks are repeats. It's still great to hear them all, as Artificial Peace are one of my favorite early DC hardcore bands, and Marginal Man is pretty catchy too. Incidentally, if you like Marginal Man, they have just reissued a newly remastered version of "Double Image" with a huge booklet and live videos. They are selling it for super cheap right now, so go here for more info.

Check It Out

Strictly For The Completists...

Have you ever listened to "Rock For Light" and wondered what it would sound like if the mixing was... different? Good, same here. Lucky for me, and the two of you out there who hear me, I stumbled across this 12" consisting of four tracks that would end up on "Rock For Light," but, as insinuated above, are mixed differently (better in my opinion). The main aspect that excites me is the fact that the bass can actually be heard in the hardcore songs (and on the one reggae song, "I & I Survive," the bass is almost overbearingly upfront, but that's okay with me)! But I think the overall improvement lies in the reduction in the saturation of treble that seemed like an annoyingly shiny layer of cellophane over the album recordings (the guitar tone on these versions is meaner, and HR doesn't sound like he'd been huffing helium along with his spliff (at least not as much)). Anyway, much like my experience with the "Omega Sessions," it's incredibly refreshing to hear these songs in a new/old light.

Although this post is more for the obsessive Bad Brains fans, I bet this would make a great introduction for any newcomer to the hardcore situation. If you haven't checked out Bad Brains' material from the early eighties, I can't urge you enough to do so. As mentioned in the last Bad Brains post, it is no longer worth discussing the fundamentalism and bigotry of (a) certain band member(s). So, on that note, this post is dedicated to all the queers and heathens!

Tracks:
1. "Coptic Times"
2. " Destroy Babylon"
3. "Joshua's Song"
4. "I & I Survive"

Hear it HERE

Back Cover

Beer. Beach. Bike. Blogging?

It's summer (fucking) vacation!!! For the last five years I have opted to teach the toughest age group of all: 8th graders (that's 13 and 14 year-olds in case your country has a different grade system). Every summer break is more of a necessary period of recuperation than a vacation. It's a time to undo the knots and smooth out the psychological kinks that twist up inside us from six hours a day (and 180 days) dealing with hormonally charged wrecks (who can be downright mean at times!). I'm gonna miss them. But that doesn't mean I'm not REALLY glad it's over!

So with all this time on my hands, that means more frequent posts, right? Not necessarily. With the lack of comments and the sun blaring bright outside, I don't think my motivation will increase too much. Who knows... it may vary from week to week...

But the first post of this season of fun is from a band that I associate with fun too: Operation Ivy. I used to consider them a "guilty pleasure," but after so many years of OPIV listening and skanking joy, I can fully admit that I love this band! The " '69 Newport" EP is an early sampling of Operation Ivy's uniquely great brand of ska-punk that has won over thousands of punks of many persuasions over the years (their battle cry of "unity" seems to have worked!). These two tracks ("Hedgecore" and "Left Behind") have been compiled on some OPIV collections in the past, but in case you haven't heard them, here are some rips from one of the original Very Small Records pressings.

Link has been removed. I believe Epitaph has just released a CD with these tracks included.

Back Cover

I saw your mommy and your mommy's dead

If your experience with the Suicidal Tendencies LP is/was anything like mine, you've listened to it over 1000 times and have probably been caught in public singing aloud some pretty fucked up lyrics (see post title). That record had to be one of the most hard-driving and catchy punk/hardcore records of all time (funniest, too). As was typical in the eighties, the band went completely metal (and not in a good way, either) after the release of their masterpiece, leaving only 12 tracks for the punks to dote over. Luckily, the bootleg operation Skate Core has dredged ST's 1982 Demos and rehearsals, and etched them on a quality 17 track (see picture below) LP that's been making the distro rounds recently. Side "S" (One) presents about seven rough recordings of tracks that would make it onto the LP, and a couple of unreleased ones (all with decent sound quality). Side "T" (Two) features mostly unreleased tracks, but they either have horrendous "production" or the vocals are nearly to completely inaudible. Most fans will enjoy hearing these songs regardless of their imperfections, so here are some decent rips for your demented listening pleasure...

1982 Demos

Back Cover (including track list):

...lost inside this manned collision

I shudder to imagine where I'd be without Bad Brains. The ROIR tape and "Rock For Light" were responsible for lifting me out the (strictly) reggae-listening daze of my junior high years, and pretty much got me through the most painful parts of high school. I can't count the number of times I ran home in a hormonal rage in order to throw on one of these tapes and be instantly calmed by the more genuine rage of these four musicians. In the absence of that hormonal imbalance, I still reap a WHOLE LOT of joy from those songs (let's not even get into HR's religious and homophobic "issues"...). Most great stuff from the eighties has been covered by better blogs that are more focused on that era, but I've had this strange, presumably bootlegged, 7" for 14 years and felt the need to share it. The EP pictured above and below is basically the "Pay to Cum" EP but with a bonus track: a version of "Don't Bother Me" recorded during the same 1979 session of the original EP. This may or may not be the only place this version appears!? Another reason this EP seems unique is the insert which has some photos I haven't seen elsewhere (and the fact that the record has a little stapled booklet inside... kinda rare for such an old 45...). As you can see, the back cover states the record was released on Limp Brain Records in 1980, but seeing as how that's not a real record label (or is it?) I don't know if we should believe in the accuracy of the date (potential commenters: please share if you have info!). What is clear is that only 500 were made in this pressing, and I have no idea if anyone went on to press a bootleg of this bootleg. If you don't have these songs, then do yourself a favor and download them below, and check out the pics if you're interested.

Download The Tracks