Unrequited Blood

Assück
Misery Index
1997

Some days you want to chill out to the fullest. Maybe fix yourself a drink, crack open the window and let some of that beautiful sunshine and spring air in. Put on the Doobie Brothers, maybe do a j. You know, really just commune with the elements and totally mellow out on some no-jive, no-nonsense cool out time with Skunk, Mike and the boys. Take it minute by minute, so to speak.

Other days, you just gotta crank Assück.

Misery Index

Hell's Motel

MD.45
The Craving
1996/2004

In 1996, Dave Mustaine wanted to do something that sounded different from Megadeth, so he grabbed Lee Ving and Kelly LeMieux from Fear and Jimmy Degrasso from Suicidal Tendencies and slapped down this record. Nevermind the fact that in 1996, Megadeth didn't even sound like Megadeth, but whatevski.

Then, in 2004, as he was remastering the old Megadeth records, Mustaine decided to remaster this one too. Only, lord have mercy, the vocal and harmonica tracks Ving laid down were now mysteriously missing! How could such a thing have happened!? What in the world is a narcissistic, myopic, megalomaniac to do? Why re-record the vocals himself of course. So now it sort of sounds like a lost Megadeth record, or a record of songs cut from mid-90s Megadeth records or something.

None of this is to say that the record is bad, or that the 04 version is better or worse than the 96 version. The riffs are at times kind of bluesy, which suits Ving's "I can't really sing, but I'm too drunk to care" vocal style. But the remastered version is much beefier, and Mustaine's voice suits some of the more straightforward metal songs a little better.

At any rate, here's both versions.

The Craving

Cattle Mutilation

Rigor Mortis
Freaks
1989

Rigor Mortis featured future Ministry guitarist Mike Scaccia, something that's evident from the first notes on Freaks. Scaccia left Rigor Mortis in 1991 to join Ministry, and he's played off and on with Al ever since (though most notably on Psalm 69). He's an incredibly fast riffer. If you've heard Ministry's "TV Song" or "TV II", then you've heard some signature Scaccia speed. That shit's all over this EP. Also in the ranks is Casey Orr, who you might better know as Beefcake the Mighty from GWAR.

This is a killer thrash record. Get it.

edit: I got a report that the zip was corrupt, so I just re-uploaded it. Someone let me know if there are any more problems.

Freaks

My Friends Are Getting Famous

Various Artists
Punk USA
1994

Ben Weasel put together this stellar punk comp for Lookout! Records back in 1994, and to my ears at the time, it was just about the best thing ever. I was (and am) a huge Screeching Weasel fan, not to mention The Queers, Jawbreaker, and The Vindictives, but there are still plenty of great bands on here that I'd never heard prior to this comp too. The Face to Face song completely ripped my head off the first time I heard it, even though I got pretty bored with their sound rather quickly once I delved into their recorded output at the time. Pink Lincolns and Moral Crux are each incredibly underrated, and their songs here are both great.

Coupl'a notes on some of these bands:
-I think Thankless Dogs featured Johnny Thunders' brother.
-Rattail Grenadier featured Mass Giorgini and Dan Lumley, both future members of Squirtgun and Screeching Weasel.
-I love the song by 8 Bark here but have never been able to find any other music by them. If you've got anything, please please please upload it.


I should also note that there was a track by Garden Variety (which forgive me I don't know the name of) that was sandwiched between the last two tracks, and it was really one of the best songs on the record. It was not listed on the album anywhere. I just noticed that it's missing from my album in iTunes, so it's not in the zip I'm uploading. I'm not sure why this is the case, since I ripped this album myself from my cd (but I have no idea where that cd is now). I'm going to try to find my cd and re-rip it and re-upload it, but if it doesn't happen, then that means I sold the cd or something. It really is a shame though, because the song was awesome, and Garden Variety were a fantastic band.

Punk USA

EDIT: So thanks to Tom Jones in the comment section (presumably the Tom Jones), I can now inform you that Thankless Dogs does not include Johnny Thunders' brother, but rather a guy who goes by the name Charlie Thunders. So that clears that up. And in case you haven't noticed, 30% of the time I'm making things up, and the other 70% of the time I'm misinformed.

Jump Mama Jump

Poison Girls
Hex
1979

This is a weird little record from a weird band. Poison Girls formed in the mid-70s, and their singer, who went by the name Vi Subversa, was in her 40s at the time w/ two kids. Apparently she heard her kids listening to punk rock and said, "Hey, this stuff ain't half bad," and decided to give it a go. She was born in 1935, which sort of blows my mind. And you know what? She sounds like she was born in 1935.

Anyway, Poison Girls were a part of the whole Crass Records thing, which may be good or bad depending on your perspective. From the music standpoint, I tend to think it's a good thing (ie I like a lot of those bands). Things get into shakier territory when the politics of it all gets involved, but we'll save that for some other blog. But musically this falls into the dark shadows of punk's weirder side. It kind of meanders and noodles, and the vocals often fall into a kind of beat poetry rhythm, but it's pretty cool anyway. Unfortunately, this record doesn't have my favorite track of theirs, "Promenade Immortelle", which sounds like an outake from Alice Cooper's Welcome to my Nightmare. It's on a Crass Records comp I've got, though, so maybe I'll post it some time.

Hex