Peter And The Test Tube Babies - Pissed And Proud - Cassette tape on Century Media Records 1994

Pissed and Proud is an album of live recordings by English punk rock band, Peter and the Test Tube Babies. It was originally released in 1982 on No Future Records and was recorded at three different venues - Hammersmith, Wood Green, and their hometown, Brighton - during the August bank holiday of 1982.

Peter And The Test Tube Babies - Pissed And Proud - Cassette tape on Century Media Records 1994

Morphine - Yes - Cassette tape on Ryko Records

YES, Morphine's third release, offers Sandman's sleekest, most consistent songwriting efforts to date, and the band has never sounded so inviting.Morphine is as close as alternative rock comes to jazz. It's swinging bass lines sound impossibly low, complete with a rain-like drum beat and smoking sax lines. What sets Morphine's rich tones apart from swank background music is Sandman's highly physical lyrical angle.In the dizzying "Whisper," when Sandman soothes "Don't worry I'm not looking at you/Gorgeous and dressed in blue," you can see the color. When he croons, "Just whisper me your number/I'll call you up at home," you've already mouthed the words. Sandman knows where he's aiming, and, at it's best, Morphine recalls the jazzy excitement of rock's lushest moments.

Morphine - Yes - Cassette tape on Ryko Records

Bongwater - The Peel Sessions - Cassette tape on Strange Fruit Records

Bongwater was an often trippy college rock band formed by Ann Magnuson and Mark Kramer (founder of the Shimmy Disc record label) in 1985 and dissolved in 1992. The group also featured drummer Dave Licht and guitarists Dave Rick and Randy Hudson. Guests included Fred Frith, Peter Stampfel and Fred Schneider.

Bongwater - The Peel Sessions - Cassette tape on Strange Fruit Records

Keith Levene - Violent Opposition - Vinyl Album

Known most for his early membership in the Clash and also for his slicing, slashing guitar work with Public Image Limited, Keith Levene is one of the more overlooked key players of punk and post-punk, not only as an innovative guitar player but also as a major factor in punk's sound collision with reggae. Since leaving PiL during the making of their fourth record, Levene has worked sporadically, popping up every now and then with a new project.

Keith Levene - Violent Opposition - Vinyl Album

Uncle Tupelo - March 16-20 1992 - Cassette tape on Rockville Records

Produced by R.E.M.'s Peter Buck, March 16-20, 1992 represents Uncle Tupelo's full evolution into a true country unit; with the exception of the eerie squalls of guitar feedback which haunt Jeff Tweedy's mesmerizing "Wait Up," there's virtually no evidence of the trio's punk heritage. Instead, the all-acoustic album -- a combination of Tupelo originals and well-chosen traditional songs -- taps into the very essence of backwoods culture, its music rooted in the darkest corners of Appalachian life. An inescapable sense of dread grips this collection, from the large-scale threat depicted in the stunning rendition of the Louvin Brothers' "The Great Atomic Power" to the fatalism of the worker anthems "Grindstone" and "Coalminers"; even the character studies, including a revelatory "Moonshiner," are relentlessly grim. A vivid glimpse at the harsh realities of rural existence, March 16-20, 1992 is a brilliant resurrection of a bygone era of American folk artistry.

Uncle Tupelo - March 16-20 1992 - Cassette tape on Rockville Records

Wipers - The Herd - CD on Tim Kerr RecordsWipers - The Herd - CD on Tim Kerr Records

With his best album since Over the Edge, and his second-best LP out of his ten releases (behind Youth of America), Phoenix guitarist-magician Greg Sage restakes his claim as America's most committed, most uncompromising, most important rock artist: After laying low through his last two refreshing, moody LPs, Sage and drummer Steve Plouf flex the old musical muscle for the first time in seven years and come out swinging. Raining blows all over the place, particularly on the first five songs, The Herd reveals a man with aural fire burning in his fingers. A mixture of aggression, moxie, mastery, and doomsday warnings, the LP thunders right from its opening snare crack, on the astonishing, staggering "Psychic Vampire." For the entire 43 minutes thereafter, Sage piles on outrageous, piercing guitar runs on feral, short passage after passage, the strings bending brutally under the strain of Sage's wild left hand. Apart from the daring ride of the melodic songs themselves, his striking, sensational, six-string manipulations transform already strong material into mini-epics. The delicately fingered leads are laced with reverb and feedback, trumpeting in paranoid, turbulent, and often indescribably beautiful fashion, mature themes of a society run amuck. Furthermore, Sage continues his knack for dive-bomb, dramatic chord changes (his penchant for non-traditional chord patterns is remarkable). Add Sage's voyeuristic, troubled, Father Time voice, and The Herd is a battering experience, a harsh, power-driven, insane wonder-record that compares well with the book/film On the Beach for its combination of intelligent sci-fi alarm and the raw, mainlined savageness of the music that reflects it. The Herd is a compelling triumph, a supreme accomplishment from one of the true giants of our generation.

Wipers - The Herd - CD on Tim Kerr Records

Godflesh - Pure - Cassette tape on Earache Records

For Godflesh's second formal album, a new member was recruited to replace Paul Neville (though in an odd twist he appears on the first three minutes of "Love, Hate (Slugbaiting)," in fact a live sample of the old band he, Broadrick and Green used to be in, the Fall of Because). The choice was an inspired one - Robert Hampson of Loop, then dissolving that band and beginning his initial work as Main. Loop and Godflesh had already toured together and put out a very rare split single where each band covered the other, a mutual appreciation society that led to Hampson's recruitment. He only appears on half the album's tracks, but his efforts on "I Wasn't Born to Follow" and "Don't Bring Me Flowers" slot in very nicely with the band's philosophy of overwhelming if sometimes beautiful noise (the intro to the latter is actually quite lovely). Broadrick himself expressed disappointment with both Pure and the Cold World EP, as both were recorded on eight-track machines and didn't have the full room for experimenting that he wanted. The end results are still worthy stuff, though, even if opening song "Spite" has one of the jauntiest hip-hop breaks yet used by the band. In terms of grinding guitars and shouted vocals, though, it's pure Godflesh ire. The title track makes an even more explicit nod to the culture of turntables and breakbeats, taking rhythms from Eric B. and Rakim's "Let the Rhythm Hit 'Em." "Mothra" got selected as a single, and in ways it is surprisingly commercial for the band, with a memorable main riff and drumming that for once doesn't sound like it's out to break bones and shred eardrums. "Pure II" concludes the album with a monstrous, twenty-minute track not far off from Broadrick's work as Final, only with even more threat and slow drum machine hits like distant cannon.

Godflesh - Pure - Cassette tape on Earache Records

Uniform Choice - Staring Into The Sun - Cassette tape on Giant Records

Uniform Choice was started by Guitarist Myke Bates, Bassist Hanson Meyer and Drummer Eric Hanna during the Spring of 1982. Bates had been playing with a couple of bands previously in Palm Springs. His band, Funeral Information, had played early punk shows with Sin 34 and Black Flag (band) and his other band, Target 13, had written the song Rodney On The ROQ for KROQ DJ Rodney Bingenheimer which appeared on the compilation album Rodney On The ROQ, Vol 2 under the independent record label Poshboy.

Uniform Choice - Staring Into The Sun - Cassette tape on Giant Records

Alphastone - Life's A Motorway - UK import CD with Spaceman 3 Enraptured Records

Pete Bain was an original member of Spacemen 3 (although hardly the best known). As Pete Bassman, he's the key figure in Alpha Stone, which in his words (according to a label press release) is "like a less sublime, more groovy, danceable Spiritualized; the band merges spacy riffs with urban samples and mechanical drumbeats." Fair enough; certainly the music has strong connections to the vibe of Spacemen 3 and that group's various spinoffs, melding repetitive riffs both to snaky, early Pink Floydish psychedelic guitar riffs and electronic washes/rhythms. It's psychedelic music for the '90s, for listeners who want something that's neither consciously retro nor as cold as techno.

Alphastone - Life's A Motorway - UK import CD with Spaceman 3 Enraptured Records

The Damned - The Peel Sessions - Cassette tape on Strange Fruit Records

A very strong set, recorded live in the studio in late 1976, the Damned are at their peak, and some versions here are as good as, if not better than the originals. "Neat, Neat, Neat," "New Rose," "I Fall," and most of the other songs that make up their debut are here. The band proves its versatility, going from the raging punk of "So Messed Up," which is as menacing as anything the Sex Pistols ever recorded, to the very Doors-ish "Feel the Pain." A highly recommended album that proves the Damned were a step above the majority of their punk brethren.

The Damned - The Peel Sessions - Cassette tape on Strange Fruit Records

Templebeat - Black Suburbia - CD on Dynamica Records

"Black Suburbia" the bands first album was licensed worldwide to Noise/Machinery records in Berlin and appeared in June 1994. Two singles "Heidi S." and "Interzone" quickly became real dancefloor and headbanger classics in the German and American club scenes, and "Black Suburbia" has been successfully launched onto the American market in February 1995.

Templebeat - Black Suburbia - CD on Dynamica Records

Rig - Belly To The Ground - Vinyl album on Cruz Records

California industrial-punksters Rig first appeared on a split 7-inch single with Oiler on the flipside. Mr. Ibarra (megaphone vocals), Mr. Wabschall (bass, vocals, programming) and Mr. Palacios (guitar, programming) were then signed to Cruz Records; their full-length debut, Belly to the Ground, was produced by Greg Ginn. King of the Soft Serve followed in 1997.

Rig - Belly To The Ground - Vinyl album on Cruz Records

Rikk Agnew - Turtle - CD on Triple XXX Records

The former Adolescent, Christian Death And DI guitarists third solo opus covers much ground, from pop to punk and everything in between. Features guest vocals by a well-known Chemical Warrior that will take you wat South Of Heaven. With the Adolescents, Agnew became known as one of the best guitarists in the Southern California hardcore punk scene. After the Adolescents' first breakup, he recorded a one-man solo album, All By Myself, and played with Christian Death before deciding to re-form the group in 1986. After this second go-round, Agnew pulled the plug on the Adolescents for the final time in 1989 and began recording solo again.

Rikk Agnew - Turtle - CD on Triple XXX Records

The Undertones - The Peel Sessions - Cassette tape on Strange Fruit Records

Given that the Undertones were indisputably one of the great pop bands of the late '70s/early '80s, and that they only left behind four studio albums, fans were enormously grateful for this archive release. These three sessions were recorded between January 1979 and November 1982, all with Bob Sargeant as producer. The first comprises material from their eponymous debut, the second features songs from follow-up effort Hypnotised, plus a corny but fun cover of Gary Glitter's "Rock N' Roll," a live favorite that is unavailable elsewhere. The third session is from considerably later in their career, its four tracks drawn from the critically reviled (but still excellent) The Sin of Pride. Highlights include the daft spoken intro/outro to "Here Comes the Summer" -- a pretty daft song anyway. Add in a storming "Tear Proof" (the band's best song never to achieve single status) and good liner notes from Dave Cavanagh, and this is the perfect adjunct to the group's thin discography.

The Undertones - The Peel Sessions - Cassette tape on Strange Fruit Records

The Fall - The Legandary Chaos Tapes - CD on Feel Good All Over Records

Out of all the late-'70s punk and post-punk bands, none were longer lived or more prolific than the Fall. Throughout their career, the band underwent a myriad lineup changes, but at the center of it all was vocalist Mark E. Smith. With his snarling, nearly incomprehensible vocals and consuming bitter cynicism, Smith became a cult legend in indie and alternative rock. Over the course of their career, the Fall went through a number of shifts in musical style, yet the foundation of their sound was a near-cacophonous, amelodic jagged jumble of guitars, sing-speak vocals, and keyboards. During the late '70s and early '80s, the band was at their most abrasive and atonal. In 1984, Smith's American wife, Brix, joined the band as a guitarist, bringing a stronger sense of pop melody to the group. By the mid-'80s, the band's British following was large enough to result in two U.K. Top 40 hits, but in essence, the group has always been a cult band; their music was always too abrasive and dense for the mainstream. Only hardcore fans can differentiate between the Fall's many albums, yet the Fall, like many cult bands, inspired a new generation of underground bands, ranging from waves of sound-alike indie rockers in the U.K. to acts in America and New Zealand, which is only one indication of the size and dedication of their small, devoted fan base.

The Fall - The Legandary Chaos Tapes - CD on Feel Good All Over Records

Meat Puppets - Huevos - Cassette tape on SST Records

Huevos means "eggs" in Spanish. It also, slangily, refers to balls. It's clear which connotation the Meat Puppets were alluding to when they named this record. It's as if they traded in their stoner VW bus for a muscle car. To push the metaphor further, it's as if they put away the hallucinogens in favor of Jack Daniels. There are far fewer overtly psychedelic touches on HUEVOS than on previous records. Whereas the group's records used to travel a circuitous path, on HUEVOS, the Puppets stick to the main road.You know you're not listening to your grandfather's Meat Puppets from the opening notes of "Paradise," which bears the unmistakable mechanized churning of MTV-era ZZ Top. The sound is altogether thicker, and the vocals are less from the upper chest than the lower diaphragm. But amid the balls-to-the-wall rockers like "Automatic Mojo" are starbursts of color, most notably "Fruit," with its jiggly beat and sighing backup vocals, and the molten, sublime axe work that decorates "Dry Rain."

Meat Puppets - Huevos - Cassette tape on SST Records

When the Semantics formed in the early '90s in Nashville, their punchy, accessible brand of Southern power pop seemed destined to follow like-minded Southern bands like the dB's and Let's Active into the power pop history books. Led by two songwriter/vocalists, William Owsley III and Millard Powers, the band initially began recording demos for their debut album with a then-unknown drummer named Ben Folds, who -- contrary to legend -- was never officially a part of the Semantics. Folds soon left to form Ben Folds Five and was replaced by Ringo Starr's son, Zak Starkey. The band signed to Geffen and recorded their debut LP, Powerbill, but weeks before its scheduled 1993 release, the label decided not to release it, effectively ending the band's career. For most bands, the story might've ended there. But Starkey went on tour with his father and later joined the Lightning Seeds as their full-time drummer. Amy Grant, a fellow Tennessean and then-superstar who obtained a copy of Powerbill, called Owsley shortly after the album's botched release and lavished praise upon the record and asked Owsley to be one of her touring guitarists. In 1996, while Ben Folds Five were becoming worldwide alternative rock superstars, Powerbill saw a belated Japanese-only release and sold over 20,000 copies, despite that the band had already disbanded and that there was little, if any promotion, backing it. Owsley and Millard Powers each respectively recorded their own solo debuts while paying the bills as backing musicians for the likes of Grant and Charlotte Church. Owsley initially issued his debut album in 1998, but it was repackaged and reissued in 1999 with mightier distribution and it even managed to produce a minor hit single in the charging rocker "I'm Alright." Powers' solo debut was released shortly after and both of their albums included at least one re-recorded song each from Powerbill. In 2001, Powers also became Folds' bassist on his solo tour, gaining him a great deal more exposure and new fans. After the relative success of Owsley's self-titled debut and Powers' exposure from working with Folds, Japanese copies of the now out of print Powerbill became major cult collector's items and belatedly became one of the most influential and most well-regarded power pop records of the '90s.

Semantics - Bone Of Contention - Vinyl album on Electra Records

Rez Abbasi - Third Ear - CD on Ozone Music

A flexible guitarist who plays mostly fusion but can also handle post-bop, hard bop and standards, Rez Abbasi showed a lot of promise playing around New York in the 1990s. The improviser was born in Karachi, Pakistan and lived there as a baby; he was only three when his parents moved to Los Angeles, where he was raised. Abbasi, who grew up speaking English as his primary language and doesn't speak with even a trace of a Middle Eastern accent, was 22 when he moved to New York in 1987. Abbasi considers Jim Hall his earliest influence on guitar, and Pat Metheny influenced both his playing and writing when he recorded his first album, Third Ear, in 1991-1992. However, Metheny became less of an influence on Abbasi as the 1990s progressed. The mid- to late-'90s found Abbasi (who is also influenced by Bill Frisell) continuing to do a lot of writing and playing his share of Manhattan club dates, while paying the bills with "day gigs" as a music teacher; he recorded Modern Memory in 1996.

Rez Abbasi - Third Ear - CD on Ozone Music

Dag Nasty - 1985-86 - Cassette tape on Selfless Records

Dag Nasty kept roaring D.C.-styled hardcore alive during the mid-'80s. Although the group was more accessible and melodic than Minor Threat, they never lost their bracing, blistering edge. Formed by former-Minor Threat and Meatmen guitarist Brian Baker and ex-DYS vocalist Dave Smalley, Dag Nasty recorded their first album, Can I Say (1986), with D.C.-punk guru Ian MacKaye assisting on the production. The following year, Smalley left the group; he was replaced by Peter Cortner, who added more pop elements to the band's sound. Dag Nasty moved from MacKaye's Dischord label to Giant in 1988, releasing their last album, Field Day. Along with former-Big Boy Chris Gates, Baker formed the metal band Junkyard in 1989, which released two records on Geffen before fading away. Dag Nasty came back together in 1992, releasing Four on the Floor for the growing underground punk scene that was only a few short years from breaking into the mainstream. The response was enthusiastic, but the band stepped away from the business again. Ten years later, they reunited with the emo rock call-to-arms Minority of One and released it on Revelation Records.

Dag Nasty - 1985-86 - Cassette tape on Selfless Records

Angry Samoans - Live at Rhino records - Cassette tape

Along with X, Black Flag, Fear and the Circle Jerks, the savagely satirical Angry Samoans rode the first wave of Los Angeles punk. Formed in Van Nuys, California in the summer of 1978, the band was founded by singers and guitarists "Metal" Mike Saunders and Gregg Turner, a pair of erstwhile rock critics who previously teamed with fellow writer Richard Meltzer in the group Vom. After considering names like the Egyptians and the Eigen Vectors (a mathematical term -- Turner later became a math professor), they settled on the Angry Samoans, enlisted Saunders' brother Kevin on guitar, bassist Todd Homer and drummer Bill Vockeroth, and initially set out as a Dictators cover band.

Angry Samoans - Live at Rhino records - Cassette tape

Buzzcocks - Trade Test Transmissions - UK import cassette tape on Castle Records

Formed in Manchester, England, in 1975, the Buzzcocks were one of the most influential bands to emerge in the initial wave of punk rock. With their crisp melodies, driving guitars, and guitarist Pete Shelley's biting lyrics, the Buzzcocks were one of the best, most influential punk bands. The Buzzcocks were inspired by the Sex Pistols' energy, yet they didn't copy the Pistols' angry political stance. Instead, they brought that intense, brilliant energy to the three-minute pop song. Shelley's alternately funny and anguished lyrics about adolescence and love were some of the best and smartest of his era; similarly, the Buzzcocks' melodies and hooks were concise and memorable. Over the years, their powerful punk-pop has proven enormously influential, with echoes of their music being apparent in everyone from Hüsker Dü to Nirvana.

Buzzcocks - Trade Test Transmissions - UK import cassette tape on Castle Records

Sukay - Huayrasan: Music Of The Andes - Peruvian music vinyl album on Flying Fish Records

Sukay specializes in Peruvian music of the Andes Mountains. Led by the Badoux's, musicologists from S.F., these are storytellers with romantic presence.

Sukay - Huayrasan: Music Of The Andes - Peruvian music vinyl album on Flying Fish Records

The Smith Sisters - Roadrunner - Vinyl album on Flying Fish Records

The Smith Sisters attracted attention when their debut album, Mockingbird, released in 1984, was produced by the late Merle Watson and featured guest appearances by top-ranked bluegrass pickers including Sam Bush, Mark O'Connor, Doc Watson and T. Michael Coleman. But, it was their octave-spanning vocal harmonies that truly showcased their musical strengths.

The Smith Sisters - Roadrunner - Vinyl album on Flying Fish Records

Don Sebesky - Full Cycle - Vinyl album on GNP Crescendo Records 1984

Don Sebesky is best known as house arranger for many of producer Creed Taylor's Verve, A&M, and CTI productions; the man whose orchestral backgrounds helped make artists like Wes Montgomery, Paul Desmond, Freddie Hubbard, and George Benson acceptable to audiences outside of jazz. He has taken critical heat for this, but Sebesky's arrangements have usually been among the classiest in his field, reflecting a solid knowledge of the orchestra, drawing variously from big band jazz, rock, ethnic music, classical music of all eras, and even the avant-garde for ideas. He once cited Bartok as his favorite composer, but one also hears lots of Stravinsky in his work. Sebesky started out professionally as a trombonist while still at the Manhattan School of Music, working with Kai Winding, Claude Thornhill, the Tommy Dorsey Band led by Warren Covington, Maynard Ferguson, and Stan Kenton. In 1960, he gave up the trombone to concentrate upon arranging and conducting, eventually receiving the breakthrough assignment of Montgomery's Bumpin' album (1965). Some of the most attractive examples of his work for jazz headliners include Bumpin', Benson's The Shape of Things to Come, Desmond's From the Hot Afternoon, and Hubbard's First Light. He began to step out into the spotlight with the release of his all-star Giant Box, which was followed by sporadic further releases on CTI and GNP/Crescendo. He has also written classical works and a book

Don Sebesky - Full Cycle - Vinyl album on GNP Crescendo Records 1984

The Chameleons - The Fan And The Bellows : A Collection Of Classic Early Recongs - UK import vinyl album on Hybrid Records

The Chameleons (called The Chameleons UK on some American releases) were a dream pop/post-punk band that formed in Middleton, in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England in 1981 (see 1981 in music). They consisted of singer and bassist Mark Burgess, guitarist Reg Smithies, guitarist Dave Fielding, drummer John Lever as well as keyboardists Alistair Lewthwaite and Andy Clegg. Their body of work is still critically acclaimed within the music press and influenced bands as diverse as The Smiths, Protokoll, The Comsat Angels, Puressence, Interpol, Editors. Through Mark Burgess' penetrating vocals and dark and ironic lyrics, their songs often dealt with personal themes of childlike innocence and a reverence for nostalgia. Musically, perhaps most notable in their work was the band's innovative and distinctive use of dual guitar melodies, courtesy of Reg Smithies and Dave Fielding, as opposed to the traditional rhythm-and-lead guitarist format prevalent in rock music even to this day. These arrangements were often characterized by the use of delay and choral effects. The Chameleons' unique sound is quite often compared to U2's The Edge.

The Chameleons - The Fan And The Bellows : A Collection Of Classic Early Recongs - UK import vinyl album on Hybrid Records

Voivod - The Best Of - Cassette tape on Futurist Records

Voivod (singer Denis "Snake" Belanger, guitarist Denis "Piggy" d'Amour, drummer Michel "Away" Langevin, and bassist Jean-Yves "Blacky" Theriault) was one of the first thrash bands out of Canada to gain popularity outside of their home country. From their beginning in the early '80s, their main goal was to be different from anyone else, and thus they incorporated odd musical tempos and futuristic story lines into their songs, often dealing with technology taking over the world. Voivod opened the way for other Canadian thrash bands and for metal bands with their unique styles of performing and writing.

Voivod - The Best Of - Cassette tape on Futurist Records

Hollow - Architect Of The Mind - CD on Nuclear Blast Records

Originally going under the moniker Vaalkyrian, Andreas Stoltz (vocals/guitar) Thomas Nilsson (bass) and Urban Wikstrom (drums) eventually changed their name to Hollow upon the recruitment of second guitarist Marcus Bigren. Feeling that the name of their band perfectly fit the mood setting of their personalities and musical tone, Hollow released their debut album "Modern Cathedral" in 1998 with the accompaniment of progressive rock chords and a love for classic Rush and Queensryche.

Hollow - Architect Of The Mind - CD on Nuclear Blast Records

Stiff Little Fingers - Flags And Emblems - Cassette tape on Castle Records

A taut, explosive Belfast-based punk band, Stiff Little Fingers (named after a Vibrators song) had the dubious distinction of being referred to as "The Irish Clash." What must have seemed like a compliment at the time did little to help their career, only because it made comparisons between the two bands inevitable. Granted, there were many similarities: both bands debuted playing revved-up late-'70s punk rock, were politically inclined, featured pissed-off lead singers, had a love for reggae, and possessed a near-palpable sense of isolation and desperation. But as we all know, the Clash offered complexity, panache, and a consistently breathtaking body of work. Stiff Little Fingers, on the other hand, were simply a very good punk rock band. With sandpaper-throated frontman Jake Burns leading the way, SLF did release an auspicious, if badly produced, debut album, Inflammable Material, that featured the band's two best songs, "Alternative Ulster" and "Suspect Device." Both were passionate, ferocious songs dealing with the harsh, deadly realities of growing up in the middle of two decades of Northern Ireland's violence. These songs thrust SLF into the limelight and got them loads of enthusiastic press, which led to a contract with the decidedly anti-punk Chrysalis label in 1980.

Stiff Little Fingers - Flags And Emblems - Cassette tape on Castle Records

Mensclub - Drug Pit - 7 Inch Record on Dutch East India Records

Growing tired of the light hearted, gentle, sensitive, politically correct culture of the 90's, the members of Mensclub wanted to change all that when they got together in 1993. Favoring the likes of Grand Funk Railroad, The Stooges and The MC5, Ron (guitar/vocals), Tom (drums) and Jon (bass) pay tribute to the meat and potatoes combo of classic 70's rock and punk to share it with their Bay Area quarters of San Francisco. Upon the release three singles during the next two years of their career as well as a contribution to the Probe Records compilation "This Ain't No Melodic Punk" in 1996, Bar/None debuted their first full-length "Comin' To Take You Away" later on that year. Man's Ruin Records followed in 1997 with their second album conveniently titled "Mensclub."

Mensclub - Drug Pit - 7 Inch Record on Dutch East India Records

Yazoo - Situation - 7 Inch Yaz Depeche Mode on Mute Records

Yazoo and Yaz are actually the same band. They had to use the name Yaz in the U.S. because of copyright issues.
Vincent Clarke of Yazoo was actually one of the founding members of Depeche Mode, but left after their first album and enlisted Moyet to create Yazoo.
After two albums, Clarke and Moyet split. Alison Moyet went on to pursue a solo career. Vince Clarke continued to create other projects/bands, most notably Erasure.

Yazoo - Situation - 7 Inch Yaz Depeche Mode on Mute Records

Blightobody - Party Snout - 7 inch vinyl voted best college band in America

In August 1994, Blightobody won the Best College Band in America competition sponsored by AT&T, which led to appearances on Late Night with Conan O Brien and E! Entertainment News network television. In the same year they were also featured in Billboard Magazine, released the international recording Party Snout on Restless Records and recorded the full length CD Poovys Grove. The band also received national exposure by performing at Atlantas Coca-Cola Lakewood Amphitheater in 1993. Blightobody consisted of Todd Turner on drums, Bryan Big Horse Williams on bass, John Furr on guitar, and Brian McCarter on vocals and guitar.

Blightobody - Party Snout - 7 inch vinyl voted best college band in America

Local H / The Blank Theory - Split - Full color picture disc 7 inch on 4 Alarm Records

Extremely cool and limited edition picture disc in a heavy plastic sleeve

Local H / The Blank Theory - Split - Full color picture disc 7 inch on 4 Alarm Records

Dag Nasty - 1985-86 - Cassette tape on Selfless Records

Dag Nasty kept roaring D.C.-styled hardcore alive during the mid-'80s. Although the group was more accessible and melodic than Minor Threat, they never lost their bracing, blistering edge. Formed by former-Minor Threat and Meatmen guitarist Brian Baker and ex-DYS vocalist Dave Smalley, Dag Nasty recorded their first album, Can I Say (1986), with D.C.-punk guru Ian MacKaye assisting on the production. The following year, Smalley left the group; he was replaced by Peter Cortner, who added more pop elements to the band's sound. Dag Nasty moved from MacKaye's Dischord label to Giant in 1988, releasing their last album, Field Day. Along with former-Big Boy Chris Gates, Baker formed the metal band Junkyard in 1989, which released two records on Geffen before fading away. Dag Nasty came back together in 1992, releasing Four on the Floor for the growing underground punk scene that was only a few short years from breaking into the mainstream. The response was enthusiastic, but the band stepped away from the business again. Ten years later, they reunited with the emo rock call-to-arms Minority of One and released it on Revelation Records.

Dag Nasty - 1985-86 - Cassette tape on Selfless Records

What Makes Donna Twirl - Amber Skin - 7 inch vinyl featuring Steve Stain and The Blue Daisies on New Alliance Records 1986

Another project featuring Steve Stain with members of LA's dance industrialists, The Blue Daisies. These songs have a more industrial feel than the solo album but still retain that same incrdeible stain

What Makes Donna Twirl - Amber Skin - 7 inch vinyl featuring Steve Stain and The Blue Daisies on New Alliance Records 1986

Black Angel's Death Song - Nothing Equals Nothing - Colored vinyl 7 inch on Dionysus Records

Taking their name but not their sound from the most experimental track on the 1967 classic The Velvet Underground and Nico, the Los Angeles-based indie rockers Black Angel's Death Song are either (depending on one's point of view) admirably eclectic or frustratingly all over the map. Elements of folk, pop, punk, and noise show up at various times, but they're rarely integrated within the same song.

Black Angel's Death Song was formed in October 1989 by a pair of songwriting guitarist-singers, Jack Gould and Jim Miller (formerly of '80s art punks Trash Can School). The original lineup was filled out with bassist J. Francis Connors, percussionist Carol Symington, and drummer Brett Gutierrez. This lineup recorded several tracks in early 1990 that remained unreleased for over two years, but it fractured when Gutierrez entered rehab. Gutierrez was replaced by an ongoing series of part-time drummers, including Jennifer Finch of L7, but after Lisa Nardoni came into the band to replace Symington in 1991, she eventually took over the drums as well as her percussion duties.

The reformulated quartet recorded a handful of singles for small Los Angeles indies before finally completing their first full-length, Sinning With a Policy, in 1992. (The CD came with an additional eight tracks, The Brett Sessions, from those early 1990 recording dates.) Connors left the band in December 1993, replaced by the mono-named Bianca in time for the recording of the group's second album. Peculiarly, the same set of 14 tracks was released on vinyl by the Italian label Helter Skelter as Two Girls and on CD by the Los Angeles label Hell Yeah as Due Ragazze.

Black Angel's Death Song split up in late 1994, with Miller going on to re-form Trash Can School with his ex-partner Adam Seven. However, a final album, Super Everything, came out in 1996.

Black Angel's Death Song - Nothing Equals Nothing - Colored vinyl 7 inch on Dionysus Records

Lydia Lunch - Queen Of Siam - Cassette tape on Triple X Records

Her laconic slur of a voice has never sounded sexier, and her off-key rendition of "Spooky" is so lazily erotic that it nearly sucks the life out of you. A putrid classic of style and substance.

Lydia Lunch - Queen Of Siam - Cassette tape on Triple X Records

Big Dipper - All Going Out Together - Vinyl album with members of Volcano Suns on Homestead Records

In 1986, former members of Volcano Suns, Gary Waleik and Steve Michener (the latter was also in Dumptruck), recruited guitarist/vocalist Bill Goffrier (formerly of The Embarrassment), and drummer Jeff Oliphant (formerly of XS and the Iron Gerbils), who was Gary's cousin. Goffrier struck up a friendship with Waleik when he attended a Volcano Suns gig in mid-1985, and the next year the band was formed.Their first release was the 1987 mini-album Boo-Boo on Homestead Records (released on Demon Records in the UK). The full-length album Heavens, which was released later in 1987, has been described as "one of the finest American indie albums of its era". Their second full-length album, Craps, followed in 1988. Three of the band contributed with songwriting. One of the tracks on the album reflected Goffrier's interest in extra-terrestrial phenomena, with the song "Semjase" about a Swiss farmer who in the 1970s claimed to have been regularly visited by Semjase, a woman from the constellation Pleides. They signed to Epic Records for 1990's Slam. This would prove to be their final album. Michener left the band and they continued with various players for two years, splitting up in 1992 after releasing a 45 and recording more than an albums worth of material. In 2008, Merge Records released a 3-CD anthology of Big Dipper's Homestead recordings, with additional material,including the unreleased tracks recorded after Michener left, titled Supercluster: The Big Dipper Anthology. This renewed interest has prompted the band to reform for some live shows in April 2008

Big Dipper - All Going Out Together - Vinyl album with members of Volcano Suns on Homestead Records

SWA - Evolution 1985 - 1987 - Compact Disc

Damaged-era Black Flag bassist Dukowski now leads this LA power-rock quartet which unconsciously draws on the sound of the '70s for likable, original music that stop well short of metal. Former Bandmate Greg Ginn produced the hard-driving, intelligent debut album which revolves around Merrill Ward, a singer who can really project. Sex Doctor refines the concept on a batch of new tunes, penned mostly by Ward. The lyrics are generally presentable without saying much; tight group playing lends the music conviction and dignity.

SWA - Evolution 1985 - 1987 - Compact Disc

Siouxsie And The Banshees - Once Upon A Time The Singles - Cassette tape on PVC Records

Once Upon a Time: The Singles collects all ten of Siouxsie and the Banshees' A-sides spanning the years 1978-1981, with four songs otherwise unavailable on LP. It's a neat and accessible encapsulation of the group's early guitar-driven sound -- a frosty, dissonant art punk that had a tremendous impact on the emerging goth rock scene. Unlike similarly forbidding work by such proto-goth contemporaries as Joy Division or the Cure, the early Banshees were tense and visceral; the darkness of the Once Upon a Time singles doesn't come from a sense of downcast gloom so much as it does from a jittery angst. Yet as challenging as the music is, it's also accessible enough for eight of these singles to have charted in the British Top 50. The melodies are angular and almost alien, yes, but oddly memorable once the listener has assimilated them. Starting shortly after the period covered by this collection, Siouxsie Sioux's icy detachment would be fused with an elegant romanticism and lusher, smoother arrangements. Which means that Once Upon a Time isn't the one, definitive Banshees compilation, but it is a cohesive and essential overview of the band's edgy, influential peak

Siouxsie And The Banshees - Once Upon A Time The Singles - Cassette tape on PVC Records

Elvis Costello - Out Of Our Idiot - UK import vinyl album on Demon RecordsElvis Costello - Out Of Our Idiot - UK import vinyl album on Demon Records

Elvis Costello - Out Of Our Idiot - Vinyl Album
Brand new, never played but not sealed in the original plastic seal
Demon Records 1987
UK Import
OUT OF OUR IDIOT is a compilation of non-LP singles, B-sides, and previously unreleased material.

Track Listing
1. Seven Day Weekend - (with Jimmy Cliff)
2. Turning The Town Red
3. Heathen Town
4. People's Limousine - (with The Coward Brothers)
5. So Young - (previously unreleased)
6. Little Goody Two Shoes - (previously unreleased)
7. American Without Tears No 2 - (Twilight Version, with Elvis Costello)
8. Get Yourself Another Fool
9. Walking On Thin Ice - (with The TKO Horns)
10. Withered And Died - (with The Imposter)
11. Blue Chair - (with Elvis Costello)
12. Baby It's You - (with Elvis Costello/Nick Lowe)
13. From Head To Toe
14. Shoes Without Heels - (with Elvis Costello & The Confederates)
15. Baby's Got A Brand New Hairdo
16. Flirting Kind, The
17. Black Sails In The Sunset
18. Town Called Big Nothing, A (Really Big Nothing) - (with The MacManus Gang/Sy Richardson)
19. Big Sister
20. Imperial Bedroom - (with Napeoleon Dynamite & The Royal Guard)
21. Stamping Ground, The - (with The Emotional Toothpaste)

Elvis Costello - Out Of Our Idiot - UK import vinyl album on Demon Records

Aminiature - Foreign Room - Grey Swirl Vinyl Seven Inch Produced by Drive Like Jehu

Guitarist/vocalist John Lee formed the indie-punk band aMiniature in San Diego in the late '80s; the lineup gradually gelled with guitarist Mark Monteith, bassist Colin Watson and drummer Johnny Schier. The band signed with Restless in 1990 and delivered the debut album Plexiwatt the following year. Depthfiveratesix followed in 1994, and after appearing on the Tom Petty tribute You Got Lucky and touring with Seaweed and the Bay City Rollers, aMiniature released Murk Time Cruiser in 1996. The record was produced by Mark Trombino of Drive like Jehu.

Aminiature - Foreign Room - Grey Swirl Vinyl Seven Inch Produced by Drive Like Jehu

Compilation - Program: Annihilator II- Vinyl Album
Brand new, never played and still sealed in the factory plastic seal
SST Records
Cut in spine

Track Listing
All Your Lies - Soundgarden
Head Injury - Soundgarden
Creeps, The - Saint Vitus
Bitter Truth - Saint Vitus
Lick My Pussy, Eddie Van Halen - Sylvia Juncosa
Tower Of Ashes - Sylvia Juncosa
Hurtin' Crew - Descendents
Iceman - Descendents
Regulator, The - Bad Brains
Coptic Times / F. V. K. - Bad Brains
Headphones - SWA
Goddess - SWA
Overdrive - Bl'ast!
Out Of Alignment - Bl'ast!
Thirsty And Miserable - D.C.3
Angel Of Death - D.C.3

Compilation - Program: Annihilator II- Vinyl album on SST Records

Shonen Knife - Pretty Little Baka Guy / Live In Japan - Cassette tape on gasatanka Records

Anyone doubting the authenticity of Shonen Knife as legit alternative rockers should direct their attentions to this title, which couples their Pretty Little Baka Guy (1986) LP with another eight tracks documented "Live In Osaka Japan" from a pair of respective sets in 1990 and 1982, the latter recorded when Michie Nakatani (vocals/bass), Naoko Yamano (vocals/guitar), and Atsuko Yamano (drums) were still in their teens. The ten studio sides perfectly demonstrate the band's quirky, if not terminally catchy approach to crafting pop melodies. Their grunge-inspired instrumentation and D.I.Y. execution give the material a rough and edgy quality. Lyrically, the Knife are all over the place, ranging from the ecological concerns of "Bear Up Bison" (aka "Making Plans for Bison"), to the confessions of a sweet-tooth on "I Wanna Eat Choco Bars," and the fun little romp on "Ice Cream City." The angular and trippy "Public Bath" extols the virtues of the decidedly Eastern tradition of public bathing facilities in a manner that only they can pull off. "Antonio Baka Guy," "Kappa Ex," and the previously mentioned "Ice Cream City" are repeated in the five-song performance dated January 21st, 1990. By contrast, the three tunes from April 1982 are rougher and arguably more stinging than their counterparts -- especially the lead guitar crunch of "I'm a Realist." Audible tape noise indicated that these probably originated on cassette, however what they lack in fidelity is more than compensated for in sheer inspiration.

Shonen Knife - Pretty Little Baka Guy / Live In Japan - Cassette tape on gasatanka Records

The Dentists - Dressed - CD on Homestead Records

DRESSED compiles 22 tracks from various LPs and singles. The Dentists: Michael Murphy (vocals, guitar); Robert Collins (guitar); Mark Matthews (bass); Ian Smith, Alun Jones (drums). Engineers: Jeff Home, Julie Anne Jones, Howard Turner. Recorded at Woolly Studios, Sheerness, England; Rooster Two, London, England; Raven, Norwich, England.

The Dentists' 1992 release, DRESSED, is a compilation of the band's mid-to-late-'80s singles and EPs (which had previously been collected on the vinyl-only SOME PEOPLE ARE ON THE PITCH and BEER BOTTLE AND BANISTER SYMPHONIES). It's also the belated American debut of the quartet, which hails from Kent, England. Over the course of these 22 tracks, which begin with the classic "Strawberries Are Growing in My Garden (And It's Wintertime)," singer Mick Murphy, guitarist Bob Collins, bassist Mark Matthews, and drummer Rob Grigg perfect a brilliant synthesis of 60s-inspired psych-pop and '80s-style indie guitar jangle. The results include playful gems like "Just Like Oliver Reed," "You Took Me By Surprise," and the swirling "She Dazzled Me With Basil."

The Dentists - Dressed - CD on Homestead Records

Tar Babies - Honey Bubble - punk CD on SST Records

One of the lesser-known bands on the legendary SST roster, the Tar Babies emerged from Madison, WI, with a distinctive brand of punk-funk that often drew comparisons to their labelmates the Minutemen, as well as the Texas-based Big Boys. Colored with bits of psychedelia, jazz, and avant-noise skronk, their music quickly progressed beyond their roots in hardcore and evolved into a scratchy but danceable, groove-centered hybrid complete with horns and George Clinton-style jamming. The Tar Babies were formed out of the ashes of Madison hardcore punkers Mecht Mensch, who disbanded in 1982. Guitarist/vocalist Bucky Pope, bassist Robin Davies, and drummer Dan Bitney debuted with the 1982 EP Face the Music, issued on local indie Bone Air. By the time of their second release, 1985's Respect Your Nightmares, their funk influence had begun to come into focus, which helped catch the attention of SST. The Tar Babies' first album for SST was 1987's Fried Milk, on which their punk-funk fusion truly crystallized. For the follow-up, 1988's No Contest, they played up that funk connection by adding horns -- most courtesy of woodwind player and multi-instrumentalist Tony Jarvis -- and even flirting with Washington, D.C.-style go-go. Their third SST album, 1989's Honey Bubble, also proved to be their last. After a brief hiatus, during which some of the band's personnel shifted, Pope reconvened the Tar Babies, now with second guitarist Bobby Vienneau and new horn player Andrew Lawton; this lineup cut one record, Death Trip, for the small Sonic Noise label in 1991. Following its release, the group disbanded permanently. Dan Bitney moved to Chicago and joined the seminal post-rock combo Tortoise as a percussionist and effects manipulator, also playing with Isotope 217 and several other local projects. Pope and Davies later reunited as the Bar Tabbies for local gigs, and Davies' son Jesse Collins-Davies was also a member of the preteen hardcore band Old Skull.

Tar Babies - Honey Bubble - punk CD on SST Records

One of England's more subtly original goth rock groups, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry were initially branded as worshipful Joy Division acolytes, but came up with enough distinct variations to break free of their main influence. Their foundation always remained icy, droning post-punk, replete with sludgy, murky guitars and mumbled Ian Curtis-style vocals. However, as the Lorries evolved, they gradually sprinkled in elements of industrial dance, early rave music, and spaghetti Western soundtracks, as well as liberal doses of inventive, acid-tinged guitar work. Taking their name from a British tongue twister, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry was formed in Leeds in late 1981 by guitarist/songwriter Chris Reed and vocalist Mark Sweeney. Reed and Sweeney had previously performed in the local bands Radio Id and Knife Edge, respectively, and added a rhythm section of bassist Steve Smith and drummer Mick Brown. Sweeney left within a year, however, and Reed took over lead vocal duties, with Martin Fagan coming onboard as a second guitarist. Later in 1982, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry signed with the independent Red Rhino label and issued their debut single, "Beating My Head." Although it was a hit on the British indie charts, Fagan subsequently left the band and was replaced by Dave "Wolfie" Wolfenden, who became Reed's frequent songwriting partner; bassist Smith also departed in favor of Paul Southern. The band's second single, "Take It All," appeared in 1983, as did the third, "He's Read"; both helped solidify the Lorries' popularity on the indie listings. After another single, 1984's "Monkeys on Juice," the band finally got around to recording its debut album; Talk About the Weather was released in early 1985, and was a hit on the indie charts thanks to the single "Hollow Eyes." It was followed by two non-LP singles, "Chance" and "Spinning Round." In 1986, Reed and Wolfenden regrouped with a new rhythm section of bassist Leon Phillips and drummer Chris Oldroyd. They were in place for the Lorries' second LP, Paint Your Wagon, which drew on imagery of the old American West and featured another indie hit in "Walking on Your Hands." Following one more non-LP single that year, "Cut Down," the band temporarily adopted its longtime nickname of the Lorries, and issued one single, 1987's "Crawling Mantra," under that moniker before reverting back to the original form. Later in 1987, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry signed a major-label deal with Situation Two, a subsidiary of RCA affiliate Beggars Banquet. They debuted in 1988 with the LP Nothing Wrong, which spun off the single "Only Dreaming (Wide Awake)." On their second major-label album, 1989's Blow, the Lorries flirted with the sound and visual style of England's emerging rave culture, resulting in their clearest, most spacious production to date. There was more turnover in the rhythm section; drummer Oldroyd was replaced by Mark Chillington prior to the recording of the album, and bassist Phillips departed before the supporting tour, with his spot permanently filled by Gary Weight. Chillington, in turn, left during the tour, and George Schulz came onboard in his stead. The Lorries subsequently parted ways with Beggars Banquet and released their fifth LP, Blasting Off -- with several songwriting contributions from Weight -- in 1991, on the small Sparkhead label. The album didn't appear in the U.S. for another three years, until Relapse finally picked it up. By that time, faced with diminishing returns, Red Lorry Yellow Lorry had disbanded. Several CD retrospectives of the group's work have since been released.

Red Lorry Yellow Lorry - Blasting Off - Gothic CD on Release Records

Angst - Cry For Happy - CD on SST Records

The three gentlemen in the band called Angst had definitely done their rock & roll homework when they made this album, and they knew the elements that mix to make a great three-minute song. This mix of up-tempo pop with elements of country twang and punk energy has an innocence and enthusiasm that makes the album timeless. The bluesy organ work on the slow-burning cover of "Motherless Child" could have come from any Steppenwolf album, and there's a hint of Mersey in the harmonies of "Time to Understand." There are some clinkers among the stellar tracks, but even those are rather endearing; "My Dinner With Debbie" is a love song to a woman who is a good cook, and it sounds like it was written and recorded by a band who had missed several meals. Overall, Cry for Happy is a marvelous work of pop craftsmanship that has three or four pieces that should've been at least minor hits. Listen to the hook-laden perfection of "I Could Never Change Your Mind" or "Long Road" and listeners will find themselves wondering what the radio programmers were listening to that was half this good.

Angst - Cry For Happy - CD on SST Records

Hot Rod Honeys - Horny And Hungry - CD on Mans Ruin Records

Like Barenaked Ladies, the Hot Rod Honeys are an all-male band with a female-minded name - none of the Hot Rod Honeys are women, and their name is meant to be cute, funny and ironic. But the Honeys' music doesn't sound anything like Barenaked Ladies' alternative pop-rock. The Honeys' specialty is old school punk, and even though the band wasn't formed until 1996, their short, fast, raw songs (most of which are under three minutes) recall the classic punk of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Although the Honeys are from Belgium all of their lyrics are in English. And in fact, the Honeys sound like they could be from England. British pub rock and early British punk are strong influences, although the Honeys are hardly oblivious to American punk. One of their primary inspirations is the New York-based Ramones, whose influence they proudly acknowledge on a tune called "Love and the Ramones". But whether the Honeys are drawing on British or American influences, it is clear that they identify with punk's power pop side--and those punk-pop instincts are something they get from the Ramones as well as influential British combos like the Buzzcocks and the Damned. The Honeys have also been influenced by the garage rock and British Invasion rock of the 1960s; if you listen closely, you can sometimes hear hints of the Rolling Stones and the Kinks in the Belgians' infectious, energetic work.

Hot Rod Honeys - Horny And Hungry - CD on Mans Ruin Records

Dead Milkmen - Smokin Banana Peels - Cassette tape on Restless Records

This EP contains four new remixes of the title track, which originally appeared on Beelzebubba, but if you can wade through those, the second side is prime snotty, juvenile Milkmen. "The Puking Song" is probably the grossest song they ever recorded, so if you like their sense of humor, this one is worth it for that track alone.

Dead Milkmen - Smokin Banana Peels - Cassette tape on Restless Records

The Undead - Live Slayer - Cassette tape on Skreamin Skull Records

The Undead is a horror punk band formed in 1980 in New Milford, New Jersey by Bobby Steele (vocals and guitar), Chris "Jack" Natz (bass; he went on to play with Cop Shoot Cop), and Patrick Blanck (drums). Bobby had just been fired from his previous band, The Misfits, when forming The Undead.

The Undead - Live Slayer - Cassette tape on Skreamin Skull Records