Yep, another GG Allin post.... (Part 2)

Wow, has it been that long since a good 'ol GG post? Sheesh, I need to get off my toilet and start kicking off this Memorial Day weekend with style! Thanks to a good buddy of mine overseas I recently received a cool 75 minutes of random GG Allin bullshit and interviews. The opener is easily the highlight: GG hanging in NYC with David Peel right after the Jabbers recorded their singles material ("No Rules," "You Hate Me & I Hate You," etc, etc) with Peel's Orange Records. Of course none of the Jabbers realized at the time that that stuff was going to slyly be released by GG as solo material but that's another story... Jump to nearly a decade later with two Halloween 1992 interviews while GG was finishing his time up in Jackson State Prison. By this time the full "GG Allin Mission" persona is in effect so you'll hear a lot of the same schtick and talking points that pepper most of Allin's publicity from that time. The KUCI interviewer seems a lot more serious (and more of a legit fan) then the clown from New York's Z-Rock; one can sense GG tiring of (and skipping) the same old questions in the latter conversation. And the ending is brutally cheesy... "GG Allin... Metallica... Am I Evil?" Puke. The disc wraps up with a tight interview from WMBR in Cambridge, MA where that night's gig was unexpectedly pulled out from under the Murder Junkies' feet. A recently freed and freshly angry Allin rants, raves and threatens the club owners (I believe this was to be the first gig in the infamous "Terror In America Tour") as well as promises the typical mayhem and destruction on what was to be his final tour. Can you believe we're at the 20-year anniversary this summer? Shit how time flies. Thanks again LJ. Enjoy.

Manchester Memories (Part 2)

Currently watching: X: The Man With The X-Ray Eyes
Currently listening to: The Black Keys No Fun

Jam Sessions...

Alan Douglas gets a lot of flak for his handling of the Jimi Hendrix archives. Oft-criticized for going overdub-happy on posthumous releases Crash Landing (1975) and Midnight Lightning (1975), the recent "official" re-releases by the Experience Hendrix crew show how ahead of his time Douglas really was. One thing casual Hendrix fans don't understand is that a lot of Jimi's recorded material were simple down-and-dirty jams - full of mistakes, wandering solos, missed cues and unexpected nadir mixed in between all the genius. I can't imagine being presented with reels of this material (a la Douglas) and being expected to splice the stuff together into something coherent enough to stand up to Hendrix's legendary "true" studio LPs. I personally think the recently released Hendrix compilations, all claiming to be "original" and "digitally remastered" (ugh!) sound vastly inferior to the 70's records - really amateur in a lot of ways (of course purists will claim these are the way "Jimi would have wanted it", blah blah - in reality these were at best demos to Jimi and would probably have never seen the light of vinyl). Douglas wasn't interested in simply releasing raw rehearsals, sessions outtakes or jams as is - he was trying to piece together "real" songs and understandbly needed session musicians to glue those loose ends together. With all that being said, 1980 saw the release of Nine To The Universe. Culled from jam sessions at NYC studios the Record Plant and Hit Factory throughout 1969; musicians ranged from Mitch Mitchell to Band Of Gypsys' Buddy Miles and Billy Cox to organist Larry Young and guitarist Jim McCarty. Douglas pulled hours of material and edited them down to a cohesive 40-minute album showcasing some of Hendrix's jazziest jams - wonderful stuff. There are bootlegs floating around out there which contain the full uncut recordings but in my opinion these are bogged down by technical glitches (drop-outs, pops, mic switches, etc) as well as simply running on for too long - the jams tend to get a little boring. Douglas really did this material a favor and should be commended for it (compare "Easy Blues" on this release to the version on the recent People, Hell & Angels and you'll see what I mean). Ripped from original vinyl - enjoy.

8/2/14 update: I just ripped my personal copy of this unheralded masterpiece and it sounds a fuck of a lot better than the previous LP rip I scammed from some FLAC website. A lot warmer and heavier - the usually shittier cassette medium actually contributes to the sound on this one. Enjoy.

Remember

Currently watching: Classic Albums: Who's Next

Currently listening to: Coffins Sewage Sludgecore Treatment

Грязь поколений

The few and far-between bands that actually get in touch are easily the best thing about doing a blog. I was happy to find in my inbox the other day an email from the sludge Russian 2-piece Electricjezus. Influenced by all the bands that matter, the two guys just put the finishing touches on their debut album Mud Of Generations. Recorded entirely live on analog equipment from different years and countries (old Soviet synthesizers, pianos, used ride cymbals, broken crash cymbals, pieces of metal for hi-hats, old microphones, etc etc). All work together to give the album a welcome fuzzy, lo-fi tape hiss kind of ambience; that is when lead vocalist Ruslan Frolov isn't screaming his guts out. Awesome shit - not only worth a listen but a few of your hard-earned bucks. Check 'em out here and enjoy.

Download

Currently watching: The Galaxy Invader

Currently listening to: Guns 'N' Roses GN'R Lies

Jumpin' the shark...

Oh man, how the blog has fallen... No, but seriously, summer is coming and it's time to pretend we're 25 years old and big nü metal fans again, right? Limp Bizkit sure are doing their best to pretend it's still the beginning of the millennium with their 2011 release Gold Cobra. The original five-piece gets back together after almost a decade to create an album that could easily be a bonus disc to their breakthrough opus Significant Other. So, how do the matured Bizkiteers sound? The SAME! There's nothing new on Cobra, actually there's a lot that's terribly old - and sadly it's once-charismatic frontman turned media scapegoat Fred Durst. Regardless of what shit the world gives him, he still has a better life then me or anyone reading this, yet Durst still sounds like he's struggling to find a groove. One song he sounds like Butthouse from the Limbomaniacs (Seriously! Check out "Shark Attack") and on a LOT of others he channels little Drew Simollardes of the sadly defunct (and superior) Boston band Reveille. A lot of Vanilla Ice-ish sounding rap from his Hard To Swallow days. And I don't care what anyone says but during "90.2.10" Fred sounds like fucking Missy E on that annoying-as-fuck "Get Ur Freak On" song. While his lyrics are generally weak (c'mon Fred - still rhyming "gat" with "baseball bat" - Jesus what fucking decade are we in!?!?) you gotta to love a song where the chorus is "Douche Bag - I'mma fuck you up... Fuck you Fuck you Fuck you Up". Solid. The second half of the album gets a little thinner... lots more experimental shit which is welcomed but gets kind of... boring. And ignore "Killer In You" - that is probably the worst song I've ever heard in my life. Simply awful awful awful. Moving forward, for those who are wondering how the fuck this disc ended up in my collection, I saw it as a 1¢ used CD on Amazon and could not help click "Add To Cart". Another win for the internet, I guess. I never thought I would ever acknowledge Limp Bizkit's existence after "N 2 Gether Now", still... I'll grudgingly admit I got my money's worth. So, in closing, if you're looking for some inane background music for your backyard Memorial Day party you could do a lot worse then this motherfucker. Shit, half the people will think you're streaming some 90's rock station and the other half will be too drunk to give a fuck. I'll be in the latter. Enjoy.

Splash

 
Currently watching: Red White & Blue

Currently listening to: The Flaming Lips The Soft Bulletin

Jeff Hanneman 1964-2013

R.I.P. You will be missed.

 
Currently watching: The Wire (Season 1)

Currently listening to: Organized Konfusion Organized Konfusion

Get the fuck up...

Amazingly still out-of-print thanks to record company ownership bullshit, Pharoahe Monch's debut stands as the last great rap record of the 90's. Not only is it ridiculously sleazy, offensive and fucking hilarious, Monch breaks out as an amazingly tight rapper, immediately comparable to Eminem (then basking in his "My Name Is" glow). Of course the standout track is "Simon Says" - sampling an old Godzilla (Mothra?) opening anthem to maximum effect - Monch creates a song you could freestyle to for hours. Other standouts include "Behind Closed Doors," "The Next Shit" and "Rape". Even the sort-of silly "The Ass" raises a dry smile as the least cynical track on the album. Featuring the instantly forgettable (but ample) Apani B. Fly - the song is reminiscent of Cube's "It's A Man's Word" as Monch and Fly one-up another on what the other side really wants. My only real complaint about Internal Affairs is the annoying "BuckBuckBuckBuck!" sample of his local borough boys that he drops way too many times. We get it Mr. Monch... Queens represent!

Rawkus

Currently watching: Alligator

Currently listening to: Guns 'N' Roses Appetite For Destruction