Amparanoia - La Vida Te Da

do y'all like semi-authentic 'latin' music (the lead singer is friends with manu chao LOL!)? cause i do!

preview tracks here i guess: Link

Download

Sludge/Doom/Crust/Italian Metal (WTC??)

I was going to make a post last week, and I uploaded some albums then forgot about the post. Now I don't remember what the post was going to be or how I was tying these in together so here's a grab bag of some stuff! 

sorry for the shit formatting apparently im stupid

Corrupted - Se Hace Por Los Suenos Asesinos  Japanese sludge/doom. Acoustic work blended in with the normal sludge and doom, a lil' bit of drone. Atmospheric, at most cubic. 

Corrupted - Aciano EP  

Horrid - Reborn In Sin  I was lounging around in my CALIFORNIA HOME just, you know, chilling around, like. And my friend was like, "dude, what this dank ass italian 

metal which i'm not entirely sure how to classify?" I was like, "Man it's horrid, it's hecka dank let's queue up the guy from seinfeld to play some slap bass,"

 and he did, and it was fantastic.

Aldebaran - Dwellers in Twilight  Doom, with a succulent sludge smattering. According to the guy who wrote their last.fm description, "Aldebaran’s music can be described as crushing blackened doom," so if you were wondering, yes, 

you can call it crushing blackened doom. Hog wild.

Police Bastard - Doom  I'll add traumatized later too! Excellent crust

Dust Noise - Healthy Filthy Noise Attack 7"  Noise crust. Packaged in laminate studded with granular excrement. 

Was also gonna have some G.I.S.M but I think I'll do another post with them and some Confuse stuff in a while! Later, alter.

High Rise - Live (1994)

Following in the footsteps of noise/psych band Les Rallizes Denudes in the 70s, High Rise was one of the most exciting noise/hard rock outfits to come out of Japan in the 90s and, hell, ever really. This live album is completely fucking insane, sounding like some glorious combination of The Stooges, Joy Division, The Velvet Underground, and Sonic Youth. I don't use those names lightly: this thing is that fucking good. Munehiro Nirito's lead guitar is some of the sickest playing you'll ever hear. An absolutely essential album, especially if you like Fushitsusha, Acid Mothers Temple, Comets on Fire, or Satori. Out of print, and goddam expensive used.

Track Listing:
1) Sadame 4:34
2) Ikon 5:01
3) Mira 7:57
4) Outside Gentiles 5:52
5) Door 8:24
6) Mainliner 4:56
7) Pop Sicle 10:29 (holy shit is this thing awesome)

download High Rise - Live (mediafire)

Phoenix - Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

hello this post is about the band phoenix's album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

Wikipedia describes phoenix as:

"a French alternative rock band started during their childhood by Thomas Mars, Deck D'Arcy, Christian Mazzalai and Laurent Brancowitz in the affluent suburb of Versailles, in the same culture that produced late-'90s bands such as Air and Daft Punk."

if that isn't proof that bootstrapping yourself up isn't possible, then nothing is. These guys literally came from the same environment as fucking DAFT PUNK and made good music.

Anyway, I bet you want me to describe the album. First and most importantly, it's good. and ho boy - meek? meek. So come. put on your favourite collared shirt, slap on an uninteresting face, comb your hair and join me in listening to Phoenix!


Lisztomania 4:09
1901 3:18
Fences 3:50
Love Like a Sunset 7:39
Lasso 2:50
Rome 4:49
Countdown (Sick for the Big Sun) 4:00
Girlfriend 3:24
Armistice 3:06

Tokyo Electron Releases

Garage rock/punk. Originally Ryan Wong (Reatards, Destruction Unit, Sexual Slurs) played all the instruments. He's since been joined by Steve Sleaze (also from Reatards and Sexual Slurs) and assorted others. I was impressed by the Make Me Bleed 7", so I got what I could of their material and it's all stellar. The Totally Shattered Euro Tour 7" has one song from Tokyo Electron, one from Reatards, and one from Angry Angles. Otherwise, it's all Tokyo Electron.



Tokyo Electron - Tokyo Electron

1. Hangmans Song
2. Electrify Me
3. Theyll Come For You
4. Yuma County
5. Darkside
6. Mis Ojos
7. Make Me Bleed
8. Dark Skin Lady
9. Im Worthy
10. I Cant Have You
11. When You Hear Me
12. Down On The River

Make Me Bleed 7"

1. Make Me Bleed
2. Take It Like A Man
3. Its Love ...
4. Coming Around For You

Will Put A Charge In You 7"

1. Innocent
2. The Burn In Hell
3. Put A Charge In You

She Keeps Me Shut 7"

1. She Keeps Me Shut
2. Outta Control
3. Everything I Hate
4. Killin On My Mind

Totally Shattered Euro Tour 7"

1. Reatards - I Need You
2. Angry Angles - You Lied
3. Tokyo Electron - The Rub

Propagandhi - Supporting Caste

Propagandhi's newest album,  Supporting Caste, was released earlier this year. That means it wasn't released today or is unreleased, so sorry for not being very cool about this. It's similar to potemkin city limits in that it's fast and thrashy, and touches on many half-understood obscure political concepts. As far as I can tell, that one dude, Jord, is a crazy hermit that lives in the woods hoarding guns and seeds.

Not that I pretend to try to understand anything propagandhi sings about (I do know that they hate animals, or eating them or something), but literally 7 songs on this album are about the COINTEL PRO. At least they aren't making up wars to be angry about like last time, I guess. There's also a part at the end where you hear his brain break. Apparently its a cover.

Anyway, completely solid album and you should listen to it since I'm here giving it to you for free. You should be thankful because if you downloaded it from them or any of their other fans you'd get like 70 megs of shit about the Illuminati with it.


Night Letters 3:53
Supporting Caste 4:58
Tertium Non Datur 3:17
Dear Coach's Corner 4:52
This Is Your Life 1:04
Human(e) Meat (The Flensing of Sandor Katz) 2:48
Potemkin City Limits 3:49
The Funeral Procession 4:15
Without Love 3:50
Incalculable Effects 2:09
The Banger's Embrace 2:13
Last Will & Testament 15:16

Future of the Left - Travels with Myself and Another

chill brah - krautrock-y summertime cali on the roof post

Two albums to relax to. Enjoy yourself. Grab a nice specialty soda. Take your fixie down to the local park. Climb up some fire escapes & sit on a balcony. Watch the sunset. Expand your mind.


Arp - In Light

Alexis Georgopoulos (?) from San Fran. I loved this album when it first came out. "Potentialities" is my favorite song to drive to. Some reviewer said he sounds like a Cluster rip-off, but that guy's a fucktard who doesn't know his shit cos Cluster is a huge load of shit 'cept when they're bumming off'a Brian Eno & doesn't sound like this stuff anyway. Arp is more like a streamlined, minimal version of a Harmonia/Neu! collaboration. Sure, I guess it's a little bit simple, but don't we all need the simple things in life every once in awhile? Why do we always have to analyze every little thing? Can't we just let the notes, that melody, play over and over and over until a guitar crests over your eardrums like a wave?

But I digress ...

Ducktails - II c30

Tapes & loops, if Panda Bear wasn't so loud, if psych was twee, if your mom wasn't such a fucking bitch, this is what the world would sound like. Get out on your skateboard & cruise down Venice. Buy a corndog for a little kid, he deserves it. Stare up into the sun & smell the sea.

Arp - In Light [2007]

1 - San Tropez
2 - Potentialities
3 - The Rising Sun
4 - Fireflies on the Water
5 - Premonition of the Sculptor Steiner
6 - Odyssey (for Baz Jan Ader)
7 - Potentialities 2

download Arp In Light (mediafire)

Ducktails - II c30 [2008]

A1 - Tropical Heat
A2 - Backyard
A3 - The Mall
A4 - Afternoons Tray Sliders
A5 - Boating
A6 - Island Flavor
B1 - Let's Rock the Beach
B2 - Status Quo
B3 - Udelco
B4 - Neptune City, NJ

download Ducktails II c30 (mediafire)

Margo Guryan - Take A Picture (Betch) 1968

*~*~*~*For fans of The Beatles and The Beach Boys*~*~*~*

*~*~*Tracks*~*~*

*01 - Sunday Morning. 2:19*
*02 - Sun. 2:35*
*03 - Love Songs. 2:37*
*04 - Thoughts. 2:25*
*05 - Don't Go Away. 2:04*
*06 - Take A Picture. 3:08*
*07 - What Can I Give You. 2:31*
*08 - Think Of Rain. 2:24*
*09 - Can You Tell. 2:33*
*10 - Someone I Know. 2:45*
*11 - Love. 5:26*
*12 - I Think A Lot About You (demo). 2:19*
*13 - It's Alright Now (demo). 2:04*
*14 - Timothy Gone (demo). 1:50*

download Take A Picture (mediafire)

4/20

heres a lil pete rock compilation i made for my frien, thought i might as well put it up here. ya dont stop

Hüsker Dü Rarities

Here's some hard to find stuff from the Minneapolis power trio: Metal Circus demos and outtakes, New Day Rising demos and outtakes, a 1985 live show, and the Eight Miles High 7". Best find is the New Day Rising demos, which has a far fuller guitar tone than the ultra thin finished version and easier to hear vocals. Metal Circus demos contain a few super intense hardcore songs unavailable anywhere else.

Do You Remember?

Man Without Plan - Get Right

This is the third of five Man Without Plan albums (they have also done two split CDs and a 7"). It was released in 2002 on Immigrant Sun records and recorded during the week of September 11th, 2001. Members of Man Without Plan went on to be in such bands as The Hope Conspiracy, Paint It Black, None More Black, and Man Without Plan. Their sixth album is currently finished and is being mastered.

Band Pages:
manwithoutplan.com
myspace page

Get Right Album Download

POST MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

post more. post everything. post anime. post nickle-back. i dont give a SH*T BITCH just make a post bith. Freaking Do It. r.i.p. pimp c yall im out

-Mavon "sakesniper" Barksfield

KARP RARITIES

KARP (Kill All Redneck Pricks) were three angry young men from Tumwater, Washington, who formed a band in the early 90's and proceeded to blow out the eardrums of unsuspecting listeners for the remainder of the decade. Combining sludge metal, noise rock, hardcore punk, and the occasional pop hook, KARP recorded three albums for K, a bunch of singles for kill rock stars and Punk In My Vitamins, splits with Long Hind Legs and Rye Coalition, and eventually disbanded for unspecified reasons. Today I'm posting a bunch of rare stuff that's either OOP or was never released at all: their original demo tape, a rough early live recording, their track from the first Yo-Yo studios comp, a more polished live set recorded at a college radio station in 1996, and the Rowdy/Prison Shake 7", which is probably the best thing the band ever recorded. Bassist and vocalist Jarred Warren went on to play in The Tight Bros From Way Back When, Big Business, and the Melvins, and drummer Scott Jernigan went on to die in a boating accident in 2003.

KILL ALL REDNECK PRICKS!

ORLANDO JULIUS AND HIS MODERN ACES - SUPER AFRO SOUL (JACKIN HAI'S SWAGGER HERE)

Here's some really cool Nigerian highlife (as always thanks to HAI for recommending it). I dunno what else to say other than if you like African percussion and kinda-but-not-really Motowns-ish horn sections and stuff I suggest getting this. Although I know very little about the genre this is easily my favorite highlife album I've encountered thus far. Get it if you like good fun music to dance to and also if you have an interest in ~*eXpAnDiN uR mUsICaL tAStEz*~ or whatever.

So get it! Get this album. Give Orlando ur respects. Do it. He and all his Modern Aces deserve it.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=7TJUW0RC

-Mavon "Dave Matthews Fan #1" Barksfield

Blyth Power - The Guns of Castle Cary

Formed by Joseph Porter (drummer for anarcho-punk staples Zounds and The Mob) in 1983, Blyth Power are an English anarcho-folk with a focus on history, historical literature, and English culture. Their 1991 release The Guns of Castle Cary is, in my opinion, their best release as it showcases their best historical writing and has their catchiest tunes. Of note is Animal Farm which sets the tone for the entire album with its driving fiddle. I should mention that I call it anarcho-folk only because I lack the musical background to accurately categorize it and it was born from the anarcho-punk community. Anyways, they're probably one of my favorite bands and I hope yall enjoy it:

Blyth Power - The Guns of Castle Cary

PS: I realize it's a shitty bitrate, but it wouldn't be anarcho-folk/punk without it!

哪吒 (Ne Zha) - S/T

Originally my interest in this band (and mavon's thanks mavon) sprung from their ridiculous last.fm profile picture (seen above), but after doubting that they were a real band at all, I not only found their album but found out that they are in fact The Gar, before they changed their name to The Gar. This album is as far as I know their only output before the namechange but if you like The Gar you are going to like this pretty much without a doubt. The production quality is just fine which is a rarity for Chinese bands' early recordings. One of the tracks on here is actually an earlier and slightly rougher version of The Gar's "Circle," one of the highlights of that album. All in all this was a really pleasant surprise for me and goes right up there with the band's later material.

哪吒 (Ne Zha) - S/T

OURSELF BESIDE ME - S/T

This all-girl group led by Yangfan from Hang on the Box (now-defunct punk/riot grrl group and one of the more well-known Chinese bands outside China) has been described as "one of the most important and interesting bands in the world" by Michael Pettis (founder of Maybe Mars, China's most important indie label... I have probably mentioned that a whole bunch of times in posts on here whatever). They make sighing indie pop that can be reminiscent of Sonic Youth or The Velvet Underground at times but in general they've crafted their own distinctive style and if they aren't one of the most interesting bands in the world they're certainly one of the most interesting from China.



Ourself Beside Me - S/T

MINILESS RECORDS SAMPLER

Miniless Records is probably China's first label dedicated to experimental/noise rock and the artists on this sampler and the impact they have on China's still nascent music scene are going to be huge going forward. This file contains the contents of their first official sampler (titled Milessni) as well as a grip of assorted tracks by other Miniless artists. The contents range from psych type jams (The Los, who are now called LAVA|OX|SEA) to heavier noise rock (Muscle Snog, who have a full length release scheduled sometime within the next few months) to experimental almost post-rockish stuff I don't fuckin know I hate these genre descriptors (Asthma Writer's Union).

Miniless Records Sampler

STELIOS KAZANTZIDIS - ANTHOLOGY 1931-2001

As a bunch of you already know, Stelios Kazantzidis was one of the most prominent artists in the field of Greek urban folk (or Laïko) music and if you don't know anything about the style and are interested in it this 80-song collection is probably the best starting point. It is consistently good throughout but the most killer track is on disc 2 of this four disc set. "Efige Efige," the track in question, was the song used for the montage in Season 2 of The Wire which proved to be the season's climax and was absolutely perfect for the mood. It's the track that got me into his music and definitely the superior track in his repertoire but seriously everything on here is great if not necessarily quite as immediate.



Disc 1
Disc 2
Disc 3
Disc 4

SUBS (PUNK/POST-HARDCORE)

SUBS are one of China's most energetic and exciting punk groups and also one of the few that are making music that isn't drawing heavily from 80's/90's tradition. Their music is distinctively modern and that's probably one of the most important reasons for their success. They've toured extensively since their formation in 2002 and are one of the few Chinese punk bands that have played in other continents. They're known for a furious live show led by female singer/screamer Kang Mao who generally surpasses most male punk vocalists in China in terms of intensity. (also of note: their drummer is fellow Beijing band P.K.14's bassist)

This file contains all three of their releases (all EPs) to date:

SUBS Life (2004):

Down (2006):

我们没有走进二十一世纪(We Haven't Entered the 21st Century) (Tour Only, 2008):


SUBS Discography

2 ALBUM POST: SACCHARINE TRUST - WE BECAME SNAKES, MOCK ORANGE - NINES AND SIXES

Saccharine Trust was a cool late 70s/early 80s band that combined punk with free jazz influences. This album freaking rocks and you should get it for real. I'm really bad at writeups/descriptions but if that sounds like it might be your thing you should probably get it because it owns a lot.

http://www.mediafire.com/file/ztmnatznvty/Sacchtrust.zip




Mock Orange was an excellent 90s emo/indie band and this album is fantastic. Got some strings here and there, and generally an excellent overall quality. Its nothing groundbreaking but I think they're fantastic and again if you think its your thing, go right ahead and cop that shit.

http://www.mediafire.com/file/iyzm1zmztnz/mockorange.zip

There you go, guys. Enjoy! I think both of these albums are really quite excellent and I hope you agree.

-Mavon "Three Stacks" Barksfield

London Posse - Gangster Chronicle (1990)

Probably the best UK rap album and only LP release from London Posse, Gangster Chronicle has remained a milestone in the often dull UK hip hop scene. With heavy reggae tinged beats and upront cockney vocals from Rodney P and the ragga-esque Bionic, it has an unforced feel, with a sound and style that was short lived and commercially unsuccesful. Unlike Hijack, Demon Boyz or Krispy 3, London Posse vocally stand out, apparently deciding to rap in their own accents whilst on an impromptu tour of America with Big Audio Dynamite, with the reggae influence reflecting the well established Caribbean communities and sound systems of London, many of the rap groups of the time developing out of sound systems. Rodney P has had numerous guest spots and collaborations and released a solo album in 2004, whilst Bionic (Mad Dog 20/20) produces and MCs his own drum n bass.



http://www.mediafire.com/?z2nqnyycyyk

Dynasty - Adventures in the Land of Music (1980)

Often widely known for Camp Lo's sampling of the title track, this is Dynasty's best album, covering a variety of styles, whilst maintaining the Solar-records poppy funk synth sound. The album starts with two pounding disco-funk tracks, moves on to the obligatory but very good ballad track, maintains momentum with two killer tracks before stumbling at the only really poor track, the dodgy doo-woppy 'Something to Remember', but the amazing 'Adventures' soon pops out of nowhere, with the funky 'Ice Breaker' rounding off the album. On the whole a surprisingly strong album for anyone with any interest in disco, boogie or funk.



Dynasty - Adventures in the Land of Music

RYE COALITION/KARP SPLIT 12"

6" from Jersey City, NJ, 6" from Olympia, WA. Rye Coalition start it off with 5 tracks of aggressive post-hardcore, KARP finishes it with 2 shots of skull crushing punk sludge. Maybe it's just regional bias, but as much as I like Rye Coalition, the KARP side just kills it. Tomorrow I'll do a megapost of rare live KARP, demos, and comp tracks, since I know you guys like them so much.

RYE COALITION/KARP SPLIT 12"

VA-Shut Up And Dance

http://www.discogs.com/Various-Shut-Up-And-Dance/release/155372

CD of the first 20 singles from label/production team Shut Up and Dance. Dated as hell, but no question that this should be heard. 'Juggling' from Ragga Twins is on here and of course you love that track.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=QJX5FRTS

VA - Shake Sauvage: French Soundtracks 1968-1973

A cool compilation of soundtracks to French films, with lots of hammond organ, big bands, tight jerky funk and sultry vocals, conducted by various soundtrack composers of the day. The respective movies I could find didn't seem like much to talk about, other than often being small exploitation movies, mostly thrillers or pornography, but like blaxploitation movies of the time it was often a good chance for soundtrack composers to play around, such as the Pierre Henry style bell solo on 'Le Crocodile Porte-Clé' or the petrol-obsessed lyrics on 'Petrol Pop'. Crippled Dick have also put out similar compilations of Italian and German soundtracks and Blow Up records have also put out their 'Exclusive Blend' compilations of 60s British library and soundtrack beat music. For more soundtracks do see Paul Durango's Blog.

Shake Sauvage

DELTA 5 - SINGLES & SESSIONS 1979-81

Coming from the same fertile Leeds, England scene that spawned Gang of Four and the Mekons, Delta 5 were a post-punk band formed in 1979. Although drawing upon the same double-bass, double-guitar punk funk sound and highly politicized lyrics that made Gang of Four one of the most influential post-punk bands of the time, Delta 5 failed to achieve the same commercial success of their peers but their sarcastic triple female vocals and mocking view of traditional gender roles and consumerism made them a key influence on early 90's riot-grrrl bands like Huggy Bear and Bratmobile. This is a collection of their early singles, Peel sessions, and live material, and although it ignores completely the band's lone poorly recieved LP "See the Whirl", it's probably the best retrospective of the band we're ever going to get.

DELTA 5 - SINGLES AND SESSIONS 1979-81

Nipples - James' Autumn & Sorry

Nipples were Taiwan's premier indie rock band and one of the most influential forces behind Taiwanese indie today. Named "Nipples" because they are "sometimes soft and sometimes hard," their style incorporates post-rock and lo-fi indie influences to create indie-rock songs that are at some times delicate and at other times confrontational. James' Autumn, their first of two albums, is a fairly rough offering that was probably made on a pretty low budget but is full of great songs.

Their second and unfortunately final album, Sorry, is where their style is fully realized. The post-rock influence is more evident here than on James' Autumn, with the album centerpiece King of Comedy being an outright instrumental track (and a fantastic one at that). Singer KK's vocals can be difficult for some to get used to, but they are fairly subdued here and blend well into the fabric of the songs.

As a side note, KK also runs Taiwan's most prominent indie label, White Wabbit Records, which distributes a lot of American and other Western bands in Taiwan, in addition to a good deal of Taiwan's best groups. The label has its headquarters in the same facility as Taipei's premier independent venue, The Wall, which is a pretty cool place that my girlfriend saw Mogwai at the last time she was there (they didn't have any good shows while I was there noooo)

Nipples - James' Autumn

Nipples - Sorry

顶楼马戏团 (Top Floor Circus) - 蒂米重访零陵路93号 & 低级的小市民趣味

Top Floor Circus are almost definitely Shanghai's best band, as well as probably the best punk band in all of China. They play some of the heaviest punk music that China has to offer without leaning too heavily on the contrived spiked-mohawk leather-jacket wannabe Sex Pistols aesthetic that is so prevalent in Chinese punk. That's not to say that some of the bands who do that don't make some good music, because a bunch of them (specifically Demerit, Brain Failure) do, but they lack any real self-identity. They also tend to take themselves and their punk aesthetic too seriously, a problem Top Floor Circus definitely don't have. They obviously have fun with their music, evident in the first track on this album when the singer breaks into laughter at multiple points.

Prior to making what is probably the best Chinese punk album to date, Top Floor Cirus released the above album, which showcases their unbelievable versatility by sounding basically nothing like anything anyone has done previously, anywhere. That might be hyperbole but still, it is a totally unique beast, a deconstruction of Chinese folk that compares probably more to Tom Waits than any other artist I can think of, but even that isn't a great descriptor. Sort of a challenging listen, but probably unlike anything you've heard anywhere else.

顶楼马戏团 (Top Floor Circus) - 低级的小市民趣味

顶楼马戏团 (Top Floor Circus) - 蒂米重访零陵路93号

雀斑 (Freckle) - 我不懂搖滾樂 (I Don't Know Rock n' Roll)

Freckle were one of Taiwan's best indie pop groups, and this was their only full-length album. It's a silly, playful, relentlessly cute jazz-pop album led by singer Ben Ben's adorable but never overly saccharine vocals. The band has since broke up, but Ben Ben has formed a new band called BOYZ & GIRL who have shown a lot of promise in their limited output so far. Once they have an album out I'll probably put it up here as well.

雀斑 - 我不懂搖滾樂 (I Don't Know Rock n' Roll)

后海大鲨鱼 ( Queen Sea Big Shark) - S/T

Queen Sea Big Shark are the most prominent dance/garage punk band in Beijing. Their music and especially their eccentric lead singer 付菡 (Fu Han) will probably remind you of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, a band that has had profound influence on China and Taiwan's musical scenes. They're known for a furious live show which their recorded music does a pretty good job of approximating, but I personally think they're best playing mid-tempo tracks like album centerpiece Hello! Passengers, a Blondie/Berlin-inflected new-wavey track that clocks in at over 6 minutes but feels like half that.

Queen Sea Big Shark - S/T

周云蓬 (Zhou Peng) - 沉默如谜的呼吸

周云蓬 (Zhou Peng) is a Chinese folk musician who mainly relies on acoustic guitar and vocals but adds a bunch of other instrumentation. His songs are haunting without ever being too melancholic or maudlin, and maintain a distinctly traditional Chinese feel while adding copious Western touches.

Also, he's completely blind, which influences the themes of his songs and parts of his style (since I don't speak any Chinese I'm not really sure how, but the song titles on this album are in English so that gives you some idea).


周云蓬 - 沉默如谜的呼吸

CARSICK CARS - S/T

Carsick Cars are probably the most talked-about band in Beijing's burgeoning music scene, both in China and abroad. They create immediately accessible Sonic Youth-esque anthems that have proven palatable to American and Chinese tastes alike. Michael Pettis, founder of Beijing's top indie club (d-22) and indie label (Maybe Mars), recently stated in a CNN feature that he believes Carsick Cars' singer Shou Wang is a musical genius. I'm not sure if this album will scream "genius" to you, but it will probably at the very least have you believing that the dude is capable of writing some great tunes.


Carsick Cars - S/T

EDIT: link fixed sorry bout how long that took

Wizzz: Psychorama Francais 66-71

A guy walks into a Parisian McDonalds & what does he ask for?

FRENCH NUGGETS

If you think you'd like FRENCH NUGGETS then you should download this awesome comp of psychedelic pop from across the pond if only to hear multiple singers reference "une el es de" while you tokin' along

fer fans of france gall, april march, les fleur de lys

1. Les filles c'est fait... -- Charlotte Leslie
2. Rouge rouge -- Christie Laume
3. À dégager -- Les Fleurs De Pavot
4. Sexologie -- Danyel Gerard
5. Je m'ennuie -- Richard De Bordeaux
6. Champs Élysées -- Christiene Pilzer
7. Exitissimo -- William Sheller
8. Le papyvore -- Les Papyvores
9. Le pape du pop -- Stéphane Varègues
10. Psychose -- Messieurs Richard De Bordeaux & Daniel Beretta
11. Avec les oreilles -- Monique Thubert
12. Bernadette -- L'oeil
13. La drogue -- Messieurs Richard De Bordeaux & Daniel Beretta
14. Cuisses nues, bottes de cuir -- Philippe Nicaud

download Wizzz (mediafire)

Assorted Sludge (Noothgrush, Cavity, Fistula/Fistula offshoots)

Cavity - Supercollider   Cavity released lots of good material, and I would put up more if it weren't relatively easy to find. If you like Supercollider, there's plenty more available. Their earlier material shows the influence of hardcore a lot more clearly. Anyway, thick riffs, lots of aggression, and overall just an excellent sludge release. 

Noothgrush - Erode the Person  This is my favorite sludge album. In addition to being ridiculously heavy and having cool riffs, it's varied and can't be pinned down to just sludge. Some tracks, like Deterioration, break down into laid back, smooth instrumental "noodling" which only magnifies the fantastic, br00tal sludge before and after. 

Fistula and assorted Fistula-related bands:

Fistula - Burdened By Your Existence and Idiopathic  Dirty, heavy sludge. It chugs along crushing everything in its path etc etc etc well anyway this is generally slow, traditional sludge with lots of slowed down, chugging riffs. 

Ultralord - We Hate You and Hope You Die  Faster, much thrashier sludge featuring some people from Fistula! Lots of songs transition from thrash to slow, sludgy riffing and vice versa. Most of their riffs are great, and they don't sound like a shitty fusion band either. 

Accept Death - Accept Death Definitely the quote heaviest unquote Fistula related band. A Slow Funeral for a Life Time of Suffering is a particularly neat song. Super slow riffs and drumming form a constant base, and on top of that are plenty of good sampled/non-sampled vocals and guitar work. 

FANG - Landshark/Where The Wild Things Are

Two LPs originally released on the band's own Boner Records in 1982 and 1983, respectively, then rereleased on one CD in 1997. Songs from these amazing shit-punk albums would later be covered by such bands as Green Day ("I Wanna Be On TV") and Nirvana ("The Money Will Roll Right In"). The drear and drone of tracks like "An Invitation" and "Law And Order" are broken up by spastic bursts of classic bile on "Drunk And Crazy" and "Skinheads Smoke Dope".

Fang would later release other albums that were not very good, and singer Sammytown would go on to serve time in prison for killing his girlfriend. Oh well.

HERE'S THE LINK! http://rapidshare.com/files/217115732/Fang.rar.html

TWEEASFUNK

This is a mixtape by Paul Nice of nice 70s soul tunes. It's mainly relatively well known tunes, but the mixing and selection is impeccable.

soul on the grill


This is a mix of essentially Jackson 5 inspired funk and soul. Selected and mixed by Oakland DJ Matthew Africa, who also runs an awesome blog and has released a number of other great mixes.

http://matthewafrica.blogspot.com/2009/03/twee-funk-revisited.html

Ulvhedner/Galdrer - Ferdasyn/Trolldomsanger

This is a split by two folk/black metal bands in the vein of Allegiance, Windir(not a lot of keyboard spam here though), and later Graveland. This is a really obscure release for some reason, took me a lot of time to track down on Soulseek(buying it from Northern Silence would've been really expensive). It's not a modern classic, but it is good for people who are looking for more folk-influenced, very melodic black metal.

http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?1mqvqn52ynv

Ulvhedner's side is the better one.

Drag The River

Drag The River is/was/were a bunch of dudes in Colorado who used to be in punk bands and decided "hey! lets make some awesome music to get drunk to in the bed of a pickup!"
The group's lineup is kinda fluid, but somehow the sound is pretty consistent throughout their discography. The biggest point of continuity is lead singer Chad Price's vocals. Though he's got a good range, most of the time he's found in the same blend of croon and lament, sounding like he's just finished a fifth of bourbon.
This is starting to sound like they make sad music, they don't! A lot of it is music that makes you want to go out and hang with your dudebros at the lake!

if yuo download only one alt-country/rock/cowpunk album this year, make it one of these!

If you only get one, maybe you should get the live album just because i think their music translates a lot better to live performance. Maybe it's just that they're looser, but I suspect it's partly just the recording quality, because I prefer their demos to their newer studio stuff.

Live at The Starlight
Hey Buddies...