We Can Do Anything!

Ah, the sound of children's voices, so green, carefree, and heart-warming, especially when shouted over grinding fast hardcore punk!  It's thanks to another blog visitor that I was pointed in the direction of a record virtually unseen on these shores.  The "Making Children's Songs a Threat Again" comp might suggest a themed collection, and that is indeed the case.  The tracks, writings, and interview responses are all concerned with either growing up, or the ongoing conundrum punk/anti-authoritarian parents face as they struggle to reconcile their ideals with the choices they make for/with their children.  Some documentaries have been made on this subject, but the interviewees and bands on this one are not as mainstream as the ones in those flicks.  In addition to fantastic music and discussion, this comp was put together with that ingredient foodies love to allude to-- I'm talking about the "L" word here, people.  There's a hand-bound smaller booklet with lyrics, a comic book clipping, and even some handwritten messages.  The larger booklet is less involved, but nicely and simply laid-out, and contains interview responses from some members of contributing bands, members of other hardcore bands, and some label proprietors (Deep Six, Profane Existence...).  And, just look at the international line-up:

This is an incredible comp; something I seldom ever say.

Some other things you may want to know about it:

• It starts off with a long spoken word in French by the singer of 20 Minutes de Chaos.  But that is the only track of its kind.
• Yes, a couple of tracks do actually have band members' kids on vocals.
• Some European distros still have copies of this, such as here. This one is worth owning just for the packaging alone!
• Many of the tracks are exclusive to this record
•  There are some between-tracks sound bites and music; I often wasn't sure where to cut them off.  Sorry if I goofed.  However, this comp seems designed to be heard all the way through, no interruptions. 

"Making Children's Songs a Threat Again" LP (scans of all booklets included), (Guerrilla Shooting Records, 2005)

Recent Re-ups:
Servitude/Ebola split 7"
Servitude 7"
Multi-Facet/Sheephead split 7"
Token Tantrum 10"
Assassinators early EPs/Demo CD

Okay, next up, we return to the Swedish series...

Starving The Starving

So maybe we won't be leaving Canada alone just yet. I got bitten by the summer bug since the last post and thus the delay; but in the meantime I secured a cheap copy of the Wisigoth/Jobbykrust split LP which I'm happy to share with you today. Wisigoth continue with their raw and ugly doom/crust/metal, and Jobbykrust compile some early demo material for 12 tracks of charged-up political hardcore done right. Both bands are so distinct, yet the pairing seems just perfect and both match each other in intensity and sincerity, making the 47 minutes of music seem all too short. Get more Jobbykrust music and info here, here, and here, and get the Wisigoth 7" here.

Wisigoth/Jobbykrust split LP (Funai Records)

The Beast That Despair Feeds

Jobbykrust is the choral chant of thousands of smelly angry people, fed up with always being smelly and angry. Really they're a potent amalgam of all that was great about the hardcore coming out of Scotland and Ireland in the nineties: the unrelenting mucous flow of Pink Turds in Space, the common sense politics of Disaffect and Sedition, the fugitive taxonomy of Scatha, the tasteful, delicate flourishes of The Dagda. This band was simply incredible, and you might be able to get their entire discography here. But tonight I'm posting rips of their scorching split LP with Viktors Hofnarren (Switzerland?), a bunch of filthy, surly polyglots who rock a pretty straight forward form of political hardcore with the crusty edges still intact. Perhaps not as straight forward as Paragraf 119, but similar in their crudity and stool-loosening energy. For sure, a band to be blasted loudly, not dissected verbally.

Jobbykrust/Viktors Hofnarren Split LP

Can't Find Any Hope Out In Tomorrow

You might know Protess from their split with Signal Lost. Those songs were good, but weren't enough to prepare me for the bleak epic that is "The End Of The Day." It brought back fond, giddy teen memories of first discovering Initial State or Zero Hour. They also released a 7" which I need to get ahold of, and if they ever release a LP I can die a little bit happier.

The name Noise Pollution may strike one as generic, and I'm sorry to say that this Irish band's sortie into raw political hardcore fits that description too. Their hearts are in the right place, and if they continue to be a band, I hope they write material that does better justice to the spirit of the band and its members. Not bad, but not great.

The Split.

I've been posting a ton of crust lately, mainly because that's what I've been listening to and apparently it's what people want to hear. Next week I'll shoot for a little variety; possible posts from Same Sex Dictator (if my copy will ever arrive!), Walls, Guts Pie Earshot, The Neighbors, Kurt...

It Must Have Been That Pastie

I was going to post the Charred Remains/Pink Turds In Space split, but I realized what a travesty it would be if someone out there didn't have decent rips of Pink Turds' discography. So here you go: 38 tracks of (at their best) obnoxious (vocals), thrashy (guitars), and hilarious (lyrics) Irish hardcore from 1986 to around 1992. The last two tracks are a demo and a 5 song live set, so this is one massive nugget. Hopefully the links work... I don't have time to test them since I'm off to commune with Redwoods out in Big Sur. Any technical issues will be dealt with this weekend.

Okay, bye.

The Complete PTIS Part 1

The Complete PTIS Part 2


I think this was re-issued recently, but couldn't find the site. If it was, I'll remove the link ASAP!

Pink Turds in Space vs. Sedition

Along with the Crudos/Spitboy LP, I think the Sedition/Pink Turds in Space LP is my favorite split LP of the 90's. The record was originally released on Real to Real Records in 1990, and then reissued in 1994 on the great Flat Earth Records. Both bands have since released discography Cd's, but even those are becoming increasingly scarce.

Sedition was an assemblage of impassioned Scotsmen who played meaningful peace punk/hardcore with a bit of metal, fronted by a screaming bearded dude in a kilt. My introduction to the band was in the form of their one LP, "Earthbeat," which was a slightly modernized thrash/hardcore barrage, propelling lyrics which encouraged humans to resist over-production, over-consumption and state control by returning to their tribal roots, either physically or at least psychologically/spiritually/mentally. The tracks they contributed to the split LP, being recorded at an earlier time, were cruder and more straight forward, but every bit as powerful and engrossing. I hate to choose favorites, but I believe Sedition takes the title on this record (and just in general). Tracks from this split LP, the "Earthbeat" LP, and the split 7" with Disaffect are included on Sedition's discography CD, which is out there if you search for it. Band members went on to play in Scatha, The Dagda, Ruin...

Flip this platter over and you've got Ireland's Pink Turds in Space. In addition to donning one of the best names in punk history, they also boast some of the most obnoxious lyrics and vocals. Their music has more of a thrash metal influence, but the shitty production dulls the metal edge some. The vocals and attitude, however, firmly embed this band in the musical space we call punk. They're raw, they're pissed, they're funny... you will/already do love them. Rejected Records in Dublin put out the "The Complete Pink Turds in Space" CD, compiling these split LP tracks, the "Greatest Shits" 12", the split 7" with Charred Remains (MITB), demo material, and live tracks. Hunt it down if you can. Members formed Bleeding Rectum and other bands (leave a comment if you know names!).

Sample Tracks (if you've never heard these bands):

Sedition - "Authority"

Pink Turds in Space - "Sickle $ell"

Download the entire Split LP (zip)
Click Here!