HARDCORE 918V

Schizophrenic Melodies

post #5

Hardcore 918V – s/t EP 198X

It almost always turns out to be the record that you almost didn’t buy, even though it was on sale for $0.50, that turns out to be one of the best out of the whole stack.  I was so iffy about this 45 because of the strange band name, and the fact that there was only a photocopied half sheet of paper inside of the dust sleeve instead of a proper cover.  And the store had like 4 of them that looked like they had been sitting there untouched for 25 years, which they more than likely had been.  Now I am kicking myself for not shelling out the two bucks for all four of them! 

So this is some sweet, ass kickin’, Slayer worshippin’ L.A. thrash metal!  I love this shit.  Straight forward, hardcore influenced thrash metal.  They sound sort of like Slayer mixed with Nuclear Assault, I guess.  They have a webpage which laments the fact that they were never signed to a major label, and that’s probably because this kinda stuff was all over the place back then.  Even if they had been signed, they’d probably be just as forgotten about today, but whatever, this shit kicks ass.  Especially ‘Think’, the last song. That song shows their punk influence the most, especially in the vocals and lyrics. It’s played all super fast and raging, and sounds kinda like if Cryptic Slaughter were a little bit slower and a lotta bit tighter. Killer stuff!

 UNfortunately, some aspects of the mix on this record aren’t very good, so some guitar leads are lost, but overall it’s a pretty good recording.  3 of the 4 tracks on this disk are on the bands ‘space, but my rips actually sound better, so HERE.

 They also have another, punker song up on their page.

BITCHSLAP

Eat Cheese Or Die!

post #6

Bitchslap – Illegal Use Of Your Future EP 1996

Forget about their crappy name, Bitchslap was the shit. 100% punk rock from Kenosha, Wisconsin.  This record is so damn good. It’s one of those records that just sticks out from all of the others as being memorable and awesome.  Fast catchy hardcore, played short and sweet with great punchy bass  lines and gruff dual vocals on most of the record.  The drummer ain’t afraid to use his double kick pedals, either. 

The song ‘Last Fat Shit’ is so damn good they put it on two records, and I’m happy to hear it every time.  It’s so awesome!!!!!  Yeah, I like this record.  I got this one from my friend Scott, who told me that he and his friends considered Bitchslap to be totally radical, back in the days of yore.  Scott’s band Legion Of Doom, who we shall hear from soon, even covered Bitchslap.  This record is sweet.  Great photograph on this one, too. I wonder if he offed himself?  Get your Keno-Core fix below:

http://www.mediafire.com/?cyzkmtmltwo

These dudes are still kickin’ around in some new bands, including:

www.myspace.com/pistofficer

DEFAULT

Eat Cheese Or Die

post #4

Default – Restraint EP 199X

Here we have what I consider to be the best record by one of the most important Wisconsin hardcore bands of the 1990’s.  Default, from Manitowoc, released three or four EP’s in the mid 90’s, most of which were on local labels, but this one is on Anomie Records, out of Germany.  Members of this group have been in dozens of other hardcore and punk bands, and they were very influential to a lot of bands from the Wisconsin countryside during that time.  This particular record just fuckin’ rages from start to finish.  The eleven songs speed by in twelve minutes, and all of them have that perfect combination of simplicity and hooks.  Don’t be mistaken, the three pissed off singers aren’t being melodic at all, in fact they scream like bloody banshees the whole time; but the guitar riffs are just really good, giving even the shortest songs an epic quality.  One of my favorite things about these songs are the ringing guitar tones that occasionally rise above the chaos.  The bass is pummeling throughout, and the drums have an excellent sound and intensity.  The lyrics are pretty standard misanthropic fare, fitting the archetype for disenfranchised middle class youth. 

 The photograph on the front cover is fantastic.  It’s a really amazing picture, anyone know anything about it?  The back cover is a pretty darn good shot, too.  My favorite song on here is ‘The Failure’, and not only because it’s 17 seconds long, but because it’s a kick ass song! Check this record out, it’s really fucking good! 

Click below for HQ Rips & Scans…

http://www.mediafire.com/?ywwyyu4mmky

One Day Away

Eat Cheese Or Die!

post #5

One Day Away EP 199X

This record is like the perfect companion to the Hinge record that I posted earlier.  They are both very similar stylistically, thematically and asthetically.  They were released around the same time, and they both thank a lot of the same people!  I rescued them both from the same bargain bin, on the same day.  They probably both came from the same collection, even.  However, One Day Away was from Madison, while Hinge was from Milwaukee, and they do not appear to share any members.

So as soon as the tunes start rockin’, after the snap-crackle-poppin’ pause, you can only think ‘Wow, these guys must have loved Born Against’ (that is, if you’ve listened to Born Against).  It’s not just the similarity in the voice of the singer to this guy (though the singer of One Day Away has got nothin’ on him, in terms of sheer insane intensity), it’s the fact that a lot of the songs on this record sound a lot like Born Against, especially ‘Nails’.  Don’t get me wrong, that’s definately not a bad, in fact I wish more bands sounded like Born Against. We all know there are worse bands to emulate!

This one also comes with a huge booklet of art and writing. Yeah, these are a bunch of college kids for sure.  The essays range from cringe-worthy to pretty right on, but it is awesome that they thought it was important to right about what they thought was important.  The lyrics are actually pretty good, and there’s even an anti-Lincoln song (‘5 Dollar Bill’) which shares some lyrical themes with one of the songs on the Hinge record.  My favorite song on here is ‘Parasite’, mostly because I really like the  bass guitar sound on this song, in fact it reminds me of Crimson, a band that I will be posting soon. 

I think this picture on the back sleeve was probably taken by this person, who happens to be a really good photographer.  I also think my wife’s brother might have been in this band, but that is yet to be confirmed.  The only other place I’ve ever heard of this band is on a 7″ compilation called… I can’t remember what it’s called, but I think this band is on it.  Anyway, check this out, it’s a pretty fuckin’ good punk record from Wisconsin!

Get the HQ rips and scans below!

http://www.mediafire.com/?mtjgtzimuky

@@@SPIDERS@@@

Here’s my first post of nature photography!  I’ve been practicing photography in an amateur, unschooled capacity ever since my Mom gave me her old digital camera for Christmas in 2001.  In that time, I’ve taken almost 30,000 photographs.  Yeah, that’s a whole fuck of a lot of photographs.  So, I guess I’m finally ready to start sharing some of them, for some reason. 

So I figured, what better way to start sharing than with some of my favorite shots of gnarly eight-eyed freaks!  Remember to click the image for a much larger and grosser version!

I found this beauty on a stump, under some bark, on Madeleine Island in Lake Superior.   This shot in particular has great detail on the eyes and fur. Yeah, this thing actually has fur.  I’m thinking it’s some sort of Wolf Spider. I think the colors on this animal are absolutely beautiful.

Here’s a nice shot of a common Garden Spider – a type of Orb Weaver.  The cool thing about this picture is that it is from below the spider, and you get a nice view of the spinerette – the web-excreting organ at the bottom of the abdomen. This guy appears to munching the remains of a bee or wasp.

This lovely fellow is the Goldenrod Crab Spider, which has the amazing ability to change colors from white to yellow and back again, so it can better hide in its chosen flower.  It can also catch a humongous fucking bumblebee, which makes this just about the most bad ass spider I’ve ever seen.  Check out the grains of pollen which have fallen from the bee onto the spider’s head.  I found this on a wild rose blossom on a cliff above Lake Oshkosh.

Jum-piiiing uh-Spiduh-l! (that’s for all you Ninja Warrior fans).  These things are just flippin awesome, free-roaming hunting spiders.  Look at the huge eyes, and the awesome colors, and it’s eating a fucking Deer Fly, which is awesome, because those fuckers bite.

This hairy motherfucker, a Huntsman spider, was one of about 150 of these freaky bastards that I encountered while cleaning out my Grandpa’s shed in Florida.  Now, normally I’m a real ‘live and let live’ kinda guy, but when one of these grapefruit-sized fuckers popped up from behind every rusty old can in Grandpa’s shed, I about lost it. Let’s just say I gained many experience points from wasting spiders that day!  You can find an excellent illustration of how large these freakin goblins are, and how well they can hide, here.

The Golden Silk Spider.  Pretty cool, huh?  Due to their size and color, these little monsters are called Banana Spiders down in Florida, where I took this picture.  This one lived in my chicken coop.  The first day that I was in Florida, I went wandering through the little orange grove that my Grandpa had planted.  As I was passing through two particularly large tangerine trees, I felt my head hit what seemed like a backyard volley ball net.  This was odd, since I had not seen any volleyball nets strung between the trees.  I stopped and backed up – and there before me was a huge golden spider web with an enormous golden spider in it.  The spider had a Yellow Swallowtail Butterfly, which, as I am sure you know, are quite large,  in it’s big hooked jaws –  and it was chewing the Swallowtail’s head off!  Unfortunately I did not have a camera yet.  Later,  I went to scope it out some more, and all that was left of the butterfly was two big wings on the ground.  Totally awesome; much cooler than how I learned about fire ants…

This is some sort of Argiope – but I call it the Evil Fuckin’ Skull Spider.

INSULT TO INJURY

Schizophrenic Melodies

Post #4

Insult To Injury – Hostile Behavior EP – 1993

Oh man.  From Chicago, Illinois, USA – it’s Insult To Injury.  What can I say?  This band is the hardest, most shredding, fastest, toughest, meanest, ass kickin’est motherfuckin’ hardcore band to ever come out of Chicago.  No Fucking Shit.  Not only can you file this record right next to your Infest 7″ alphabetically, but you can also file it right next to Infest in your heart.

Most hardcore bands from Chicago, with a few notable exceptions, are a bunch of pussies.  That’s just an indisputable Fact.  They might sound tough, they might play fast, but really, they’re just a bunch of pale, skinny college kids with nice equipment.  Insult To Injury, on the other hand – they’re the real fuckin’ deal.

Ok, Ok, they might be pale and skinny, but these dudes scared the shit out of me when I was a teenager.  Just listen to this ass ripping record and you, too, will have your shit scared out of your own self.  (?)  Read the lyrics. They revolve around three key themes: 1)Beating the shit out of motherfuckers who ask for it. 2)Having a fucked up life/childhood. 3)Believing in yourself and living by your own rules.  Oh, and listen to the goddamn singer.  He gives the guy from Verbal Assault a real run for his money in the ‘yell at a thousand miles an hour’ category. Before I start to sound like Bruce Roehrs and ejaculate excessive amounts of adjectives about how much this band  fucking kicks ass, let me just say this: If you like hardcore punk, you will love I II I.  If you think you like hardcore punk, but you don’t like this record, then fuck off and die.   “.”

So far as I am concerned, this 10 song, 8 minute long record is their crowning acheivement.  They also released a split 7″ with 10-96 (which rules – see the link in my first post), and a split 7″ with Mexican Power Authority, (yeah – the post-Neos band).  If anyone has a copy of that record, I WANT IT.  I also found a copy of a CD that the band released several years later.  Unfortunately, on the CD they had abandoned the ripping mosquito guitars, brain boggling bass lines and lightning speed drumming that made their early releases so unique, in favor of a more moshy/NYHC sound.  It’s still a good hardcore record, but not as gonad grindingly good as their early material.  If anyone has or knows of any other material, please comment!  They do have an old Myspace with a few songs from the CD, and a pretty radical write up on how they were viewed in the ‘scene’:

www.myspace.com/insulttoinjurychicago

By the way, I never saw this band play, I never heard anyone ever mention them, I never even saw one of their T-shirts.  They were basically unknown in the more well-known Chicago punk ‘scene’ of the 90’s.  I found out about them from their split 7″ with 10-96.

Here’s A video I made for the song ‘Nothing To Lose’.  Lyrics are included, so be sure to sing along!

Click the link below to download high quality 320 Kbps Mp3 files and complete cover scans in a .zip archive.  Enjoy!

http://www.mediafire.com/?cmqkx2zdqlx

A Night On Bare Mountain

Schizophrenic Melodies post #2

A Night on Bare Mountain and Other Russian Selections – Leopold Stokowski and his Orchestra – 2xEP 1954

Alright, alright. I’ll spare you the long winded musings and reminiscing about how awesome this music is, at least for now anyway.  Just know this: contained upon the brittle plastic disks within this yellowed sleeve is nearly half an hour of some of the best, and most awesomelly intense, symphonic music I have ever heard.  I’m sure you all know ‘A Night On Bare Mountain’ from the film Fantasia.  You know, the seen where Satan summons forth all of the demons, ghosts and witches to frolic in the flames of hell?  Yeah, that was pretty much the coolest thing I had ever seen, accompanied by the coolest music I had ever heard, when I was a little kid.  So naturally I was stok(owski)ed when I found this sweet little double seven inch set for 95 cents. 

Ok, I lied, I’m going to ramble on for a while.  So all you kids that love the Metallicas music better start clicking on this link and listening intently, because this shit, originally composed in 1867 by a psychotic drunk named Modest Moussorgsky, is heavy, fast, frightening and fucking metal.  It even has blast beats, for christ’s sake!  Never mind the fact that those whiny little hipster panty wastes ruined ‘ol Modest’s name.  This music will far outlive their annoying crap. 

This version was ‘orchestrated’ by Leopold Stokowski and is apparently the same score used in the movie.  The excerpt from the liner notes below is him describing the composition in his own words:

So, there you have it.  You’re welcome.

But wait!  That’s not all – there’s two other really awesome songs on this record!  The ‘Russian Easter Overture, Opus 36’ is really good, exciting, haunting, ecstatic and frenetic music.  Check the super creepy vocal part in the middle, and the great french horn parts.  But the best part of this song are the fast parts they are intensely beautiful!  This song was written by some guy named Rimsky-Korsakov, who was apparently Moussorgsky’s friend, so much so that he helped finish ‘A Night On Bare Mountain’ after Modest died. 

The last song is another great tune called the ‘Russian Sailors Dance’.  It starts out a little drunkenly, then gets a bit regal, then gets more and more excited, and before you know it the orchestra starts playing as fast as they can and it is flippin’ radical.  Really awesome song. Really awesome record!

Download a .zip archive with 320Kbps Mp3 files and complete high quality cover scans below!

http://www.mediafire.com/?mmbddjwty4k

TRIBULATION

Eat Cheese Or Die – Post #3

Tribulation – The First Page – demo cassette – 1987

The Gods of  Heavy Metal have smiled upon us all today.

From deep within the deepest Vaults of Rock, a hidden gem has finally been unearthed.  After nearly a quarter century hidden away, the world is only now ready to hear the Power and the Might of  Tribulation.  Behold! Your puny being shall be crushed beneath the awesome Power (and might) which is barely contained within the pitiful plastic case of this demo tape.  The amazing awesomeness and awesome amazingness held herein is so … amazingly …. awesome, that… ahh…. well it’s really not that awesome, actually.  In fact, this is by far some of the most terrible shit I’ve ever heard!

When I saw this tape, at a used book store of all places, my heart rate increased and my palms got all sweaty. I quickly grabbed it and added it to my pile of treasures while glancing around to be sure no one else was coveting my prize.  I knew this shit had to be good.

And I was right!  This is totally inept cheeseball Metal that is somehow still so completely awesome that I can listen to it over and over again! Really, I can listen to it like three times in a row!  The band is generally sloppy as hell, though at times they do pull it together pretty well.  The guitar solos are all completely terrible, but the drumming is right on at least 85% of the time.  In addition to some really questionable post production decisions, such as the hilarious fake pauses in ‘Taking Command’, Tribulation  play several of my favorite cliche metal riffs on this demo.  They also seem to have something of a Christian theme going on in the horrible  lyrics, which is pretty funny.   But the best part about this tape, the part that could someday make this tape infamous the world round, are the vocals. Oh! The VOCALS!  I still laugh out loud every time I hear the singer belt out ” Thee Ay-thee-uuhst!” in ‘The Atheist’.  The vocals are fucking hilarious.  And don’t forget the song ‘Fat Chicks’, a crowd favorite, I’m sure, where we learn that  “It’s always an Orgy with a Fat Chick” and that “We need Fat Chicks to Survive!”  God I love this tape.

Okay, now this is even funnier.  I was wondering what ever happened to these True Warriors of Wisconsin Metal, so I just did a little sleuthing… and I almost fell out of my chair with mirth upon realizing that the drummer from Tribulation now plays with Milwaukee’s very own über hipster, gaze upon thy shoes, gag-me-with-a-post rock band Collections of Colonies of Bees (or CoCoBees, as the true ‘ipsters call ’em)! Ha! I’m so going to one of their shows just to scream out “FAT CHICKS!!!!!” at every sensitive, sit-down-and-sway moment. YAY!  I love being an Asshole.

www.myspace.com/resonatingface 

Actually though, this guy is apparently a solo percussionist now, which is actually pretty cool, and his ambient/noise/jazz music is interesting.  Go figure! In fact, a few days ago, I was at a dour hipster bar and picked up a flier advertising a series of jazz concerts at another bar in my neighbourhood.  I remember being perplexed by the fact that so many of the performers listed on the flier had funny sounding Scandinavian names.  I thought to myself : “Am I totally unaware of an underground Swedish Jazz scene right here in Milwaukee, Wisconsin?” Well, it turns out that the drummer from Tribulation is setting up these shows with his touring European jazz musician friends!  I know you are probably bored to hell by all of this, but I am terribly amused by this shit.  I’m going to see ’em and have him sign my tape! hahahahahahahahaa

For High Quality MP3 files containing the music from this tape, as well as complete cover scans, etc., please click the link below:

http://www.mediafire.com/?jzhnjiqzznu

SIDETRACKED + DEAD RADICAL

SORE NECK, RINGING EARS

post #1

Two of the most exciting bands I’ve seen in the last two years just put out a split LP.  Sidetracked, from Tacoma Washington, and Dead Radical, from Scranton Pensylvania, who unfortunately just broke up.  Both of these bands specialize(d) in intense, short songs, and I was lucky enough to see both of them play in basements for hardly anyone else but me.  I had never heard of either band before I saw them, but I was definately won over by their respective performances, so imagine my delight when I found out that they were releasing a split LP together. So i have a few nice shots of Dead Radical, which are two years old now, and I feel like a total douche for not getting them to the band before they broke up.  So here, belatedly are those few pictures that I snapped whilst enjoying their fucking insane thrash:

 

I know that the guys in Dead Radical don’t look like the crustiest dudes ever to befoul the Earth, but they sure as fuck can sonically wallop the hell out of just about any bunch of dreadlocked dirtbag dipshits you can think of.  If you need proof, listen to their goddamn amazing self titled 18 song seven inch. I shit you not, it fucking kills.  Just look at this close-up of their drummer, taken from the first picture:

I mean, how can you get that beet red and sweaty without thrashin’ to the max?

It’s been less than a year since I saw Sidetracked, and I’m pretty sure that they are still together.  The set they played was seriously awesome, totally tight and succinct hardcore exclamations, most of which seemed to be within that magical 12 to 30 second length that I really love.  They played a lot of songs, but their set lasted no more than ten minutes, and it fucking kicked ass.  I only took a couple of snapshots, since i normally don’t even take out my camera until a band’s set is nearly over, and these guys caught me by surprise with an extremely short set. So at first I thought that this one picture that i am posting here really sucked, because all of the bandmembers’ faces are obscured, and the singer (who, incidentally, writes all of the songs and plays all of the instruments on the records) is nowhere in sight, but upon further contemplation, it struck me that this image might be a near perfect representation of this antithetical band.  Or it just sucks. You be the judge. One thing is certain, Sidetracked does NOT suck.

Youth Against Fascism

SCHIZOPHRENIC MELODIES

post #2

Youth Against Fascism – Libertad y Justicia….. Para Quien?  EP

This is an essential, but unfortunately obscure, slab of mid-90’s Chicago latino punk rock.  To me, this record is completely on par with the best records released by that certain other band from the same time and place which is now enormously popular.  Simple, pissed off, catchy, and defiant; I fucking love this record.  I first bought this record when I saw Youth Against Fascism open for State of Fear, Active Minds (from UK) and the Fun People from Argentina, at the Fireside Bowl in Chicago, some time in 1996.  Awesome show.  I think it may have been my first international punk show, and it was fucking great.  The Fun People are still the only band from South America that I’ve ever seen, they were really great live and I love their recordings, too.  I’ve never actually seen one of their records, (they had sold out by the time they reached Chicago) but several years after I saw them I was finally able to track down some of their music on the web, and I was not disappointed.  Active Minds were really neat, definately the first (and only) two piece anarcho thrash band I’ve ever seen.  They have a bunch of records out on their own label, Looney Tunes, and on those records there are many short and sweet songs that make me grin. State of Fear was probably good, but the only thing I remember about their set was that they played the instrumental intro to ‘Teenage Time Killer’ by Rudimentary Peni.  I don’t really remember Youth Against Fascism’s  performance, but I know I liked them, because I clearly remember talking to them and some guys from Fun People and buying a bunch of Latin American punk records from them, the most memorable of which were the Revolucion X seven inches – awesome Mexican ‘Zapatista’ punk.

So anyway, as I said, I fucking love this record.  The hit is definately the title track, which, in my mind, is right up there with ‘!Levantante!’ by the famous band I alluded to at the start of this post.  This was the only time I ever saw YAF, but I know they later shortened their name to Youth Against (maybe after they heard about the Sonic Youth song?).  I also know that they put out an awesome LP, because I found it in a box of records someone was selling about a year ago.  I can’t find any specific information on the web about this band or their label, so if you know anything, please share.  Anyway, check this shit out. It rules.

For a zip archive containing 320 Kbps MP3 files and all cover, insert, and label scans, click below….

http://www.mediafire.com/?ydj5otzez2m

Hinge – Meaning EP

EAT CHEESE OR DIE

post #2

HINGE – Meaning EP 1994

This is a great EP from an all but forgotten Milwaukee band. I found this record in a local dollar bin, and I was immediately struck by the stark but beautiful artwork, featuring appropriated photographs.  I had never heard of this group, but I am definately happy to add this record to my collection.  The music is well written emotional hardcore, which could perhaps be likened to a less gruff Econochrist,  and it sounds great on the record.  This also came with a nice 8 page booklet with full lyrics, and artwork.  The best song on here is  ‘How The West Was Won’, an impassioned rebellion against the bullshit lies that we as American children are taught in order to gloss over the sick reality of the genocide which was perpetrated by the US government, and it’s citizens, against aboriginal Americans.  The first song, ‘Psalm’ also kicks ass with its pissed off chorus of “Where is your God? Where is Your God?”.   My favorite of these four songs, however, is ‘Rhyme and Reason’, a short, tight, thrash number that manages to remind me of both Oi Polloi and Minor Threat, oddly enough.  All in all a kick ass record from Wisconsin that deserves to be heard. Anyone with info on Hinge or Vagary Records, please comment!

For the zip archive containing 320 kbps MP3’s of each song, and full quality JPG’s of all covers, vinyl and 8 page booklet, click below.

http://www.mediafire.com/?wdylwkg2gxy

Computer Speech – Bell Telephone Laboratories 1963

SCHIZOPHRENIC MELODIES

post #1

This is one of those great thrift store finds that makes searching through endless piles of crap so very worth while.  This fascinating little 7″, which I found mixed in with a bunch of disco and Sesame Street 45’s and without any sleeve, was instantly intriguing to me, and I certainly had no qualms about dropping the eighteen cents to buy it.  So the pictures are pretty self explanatory, and you can find any info you might seek about Bell Telephone Laboratories with a simple web search.  I got the picture sleeve scan from The Personal Computer Museum, and if you are interested in reading the extensive liner notes that go along with this record, you should go there.  This record consists of several examples of early synthesized speech, interspersed with eloquent explanations from a (human) male speaker. There is also a bit of song, representing one of the earliest examples of electronically produced music. I assume that the odd words on the label are some of the speech sounds which would be fed to the computer on paper punch cards to tell it what to say. Duh, and I just now realized that they say “He Saw The Cat”.

When I was a kid, I spent many hours playing with a little program called Dr. Sbaitso, which was a speech simulator that would say whatever you wanted it to, as well as sort of answering some questions you could ask of it.  Anyway the unfortunately un-named computer featured on this record is basically the great-grandaddy of Dr. Sbaitso, and while some of these artificial vocalizations are remarkably coherent, most of them are not.  For me, the best parts of this record are the two versions of that American classic song ‘Bicycle Built For Two’.  It really does sound sweet to be serenaded by this bizarre artificial voice.  Be sure to note that the second, accompanied version of this song required an extra computer to create the simple music which accompanies our love lorn crooner.  As with any encounter I have with antiquated technology, I am greatly impressed by the science represented on this record and, even more so, I am amazed at how far this technology has come.  So next time you are talking to a computer on the telephone, remember: it all started here.

So I was actually able to find several rips of this record with a quick web search, but since I am not one to be easily outdone, I have decided to include a rip of the hitherto un-digitized B-side of this record, which consists of a blank 35 second long groove ending in a locked groove which could play indefinately.  Now, why did they even bother to press a blank groove on the B-side? Who knows, either way, i have included an MP3 of it in the zip archive for this record, along with full scans and a couple of photos. Click below to download.

http://www.mediafire.com/?yi2mgmg1ow0

I was also playing around as my needle rode around in the locked groove and made a few little noise improvisations by layering some live effects onto the crackling sound made by the record. I cut out a few tracks, made a little picture, and folded it all into a zip archive for anyone who would like to hear it.

http://www.mediafire.com/?i3nzqovjqlm

10-96 – Gas Bag EP 1994

 

 

 

 

EAT CHEESE OR DIE

post # 1

“I don’t think I like this day

Gotta get through it anyway.

Drugs, booze, I don’t care,

I feel weird…….”

-10-96, from ‘Dred Song’

Ok, here we go! Seein’ as how this is a blog all about Rock and Roll from Wisconsin I can only start with the most infamous and underappreciated band from Wisconsin, 10-96. From Kenosha, you can get some info on who these guys were, and on what the (surviving) members are up to from this link.  Together from 1983 until the probably not so untimely death of singer Dean Dirt in the late 90’s, these guys “Were told from the start that they’d never last” but their music deserves to live on forever. 

To me, this band is by far the ‘punkest’ band ever to come out of Wisconsin, not just for their fuckin’ attitude, but for their totally unique and ass kicking music.  10-96 combined old school, spit in yer eye Punk Rock and Roll with balls out, break neck, shit thrashin Hard Core in a way that I have never heard from any other band.  The music is chaotic, intense and fucking insane, with just enough catchy melody and humor to put it over the top into genius.  I don’t know their entire discography (please enlighten me!) but i do know they released two EP’s, a split 7″, and a fuckin legendary LP, all in the mid 90’s.    Check it out!

EAT CHEESE OR DIE!

Onto the specific content of this post, the Gas Bag EP from 1994.  Though the recording is rough, I fucking love this record, and was super glad i found it again in a bargain bin about a year ago.  I had originally obtained it upon recommendation from whoever was selling records for URBN DK at one of their shows in Chicago in 1996. At first i found this record kind of confusing and even scary, but I soon came to love the awesome drunken thrash and dirty rock sounds on it, especially the alternately crazed and melodic vocals and the crazy wailing guitar leads.  Shit, not to mention the unrelenting thrashing drums.  With the longest original song on here (Mental Chant) lasting a mere 71 seconds, the last 20 of which are a crazy noisecore freakout, I think this record may have been an important factor in influencing my obsession with short songs. My favorite song here is ‘Bullshit’, fuckin kick ass no bullshit punk, but all of the other songs are great and have a unique intensity in their condensed and honest composition. Fuck yeah. Oh, and the last song is a cover of the Fuck Ups.

Download 10-96 – Gas Bag EP from link below. Ten song 7″ with all cover scans in archive. I can’t find the insert, though…

http://www.mediafire.com/?mnmjkuzolqn

Also go to this awesome blog for their essential split 7″ with Chicago’s amazing Insult To Injury.

http://systemsabotagechaos.blogspot.com/2009/03/10-96insult-to-injury-ancient-future.html

And go to their website for more tunes and to comment…

http://www.myspace.com/ten96

And finally, be sure to go over to Beer City Records and purchase the digital version of the LP “No Retreat”.  It is really good, and has much better recording quality than any of their other records.

http://www.beercityrecords.com/?page_id=60

Thanks to 10-96 for the tunes!

“Youth is an attitude, FUCKER!”