Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Clearing House: Pt something or another


I loved the Red Hot and Riot compilation as much as the next guy, but when did it become the new Bob Marley Legend?

While we're on the topic of Red Hot, how many of you knew about America Is Dying, their hip hop compilation that came out in 1996? Well, I didn't. Here's a few tracks that clued me in:

Prince Paul, Biz Markie and Chubb Rock - "No Rubber, No Backstage Pass": I think Biz actually meows at one point.


That Crazy Wu Tang Family - "America": just on the heels of that leak from their new album, here's this chestnut.


Common ft. Sean Lett - "Lately I've Been Thinking": about who the hell Sean Lett is.

Sunday, September 23, 2007

Clearing House: Pt 6


Just to prove how topical I am, here's some cuts from a Joy Division tribute album, just in time for that biopic to come out (and, oh, all those Interpol albums).

Tortoise - "As You Said": A cover of one of few instrumental Joy Division tracks (from what the Interweb authorities say, it hails from the Closer sessions and ultimately showed up on the Heart and Soul set). An interview in Wire later revealed that the track was also one of the reasons why Bundy Brown left Tortoise before Millions....


Girls Against Boys - "She's Lost Control": mid-90s, Girls Against Boys...seemed appropriate.


Low - "Transmission": This came out later as a separate EP for Low. One of few examples of someone out-bumming Joy Division (Codeine also appears on the tribute).


This wasn't on the tribute album (or from the same decade), but I figured it fit. Here's LCD Speakerphone's cover of "No Love Lost":

Thursday, September 20, 2007

Clearing House: Phew, Pt 5!


Calgary, it was fun. Vancouver, howdy doody!

There's little I can or will say about On Guard For Thee other than that it was one of those garage rock compilations that featured a heck of a lot of Calgary bands, particularly considering the compilation was released on an Australian label (Augogo). This one probably won't be remembered quite as readily as the various Bloodbaths, but probably saw just as much airplay.

Von Zippers - "Mega Volt": I've said it before and I'll say it again, the Von Zippers was/is one of my favorite Calgary bands, hands down. Few other bands in town, particularly at the Rotoflex prime (the compilation is from around '95), put on a better live show.


Parkades - "(You Ain't Heard) the 5,6,7,8's": I thought long and hard about putting this up, and ultimately decided to post this for a few reasons. One, I didn't have an opinion on most of the other Calgary bands on this compilation (Pussy Monster, Huevos, Chixdiggit); Two, I figured it'd be better to post a track from a band that was defunct than from a band that was still performing (Forbidden Dimension); Three, I can still picture the apartment listed as the Parkades' mailing address in compilation liner notes (more amusingly, Chixdiggit actually list a Market Mall PO Box for their coordinates)(also of note: no email addresses/websites listed whatsoever).


Smugglers - "Babe": Are the Smugglers still around? I've got no clue. I always thought they were immensely fun, and certainly liked them more than Cub.


Evaporators - "Grouse Mountain Scenic Railway": Probably one of the more interesting songs on the compilation. Funny thing is, we've been here over a year and I still haven't driven north of the British Properties.

Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Clearing House: Pt 4


In the whirlwind days of the mid-90s, there were plenty of times when I'd throw down cash for any old electronic shizz on a disc, and goddamn if those times weren't chock full of worthless comps. The excitement of a foreign genre was at full-time frenzy, and one of the treasure troves for the stuff was Kensington CD.

Kensington CD, located where an acoustic guitar store resides (well, at least when I left Calgary) behind Higher Ground (or thereabouts), was a fantastic place to be if (i) you were too lazy to leave the suburbs to head down to 17th, and (ii) you wanted to check out (and scoop) whatever the hell Sid and Faust were buying (the lady that ran the place would let me check their orders and buy out albums that came in ahead of them)(also: she also let me in on Sid's real name, a shocking revelation at the time). At some point I ran out of moolah and stopped frequenting the place, and thus I'm not overly sure when it packed up. Which is a good thing, because it wasn't overly long afterward that I noticed I spent a lot of cash on a whole lotta nothin'.

One compilation, Further Mutations on Lo Recordings, saddled that vague territory of electronic experimental music, which, in 96, would've also included the likes of Amon Tobin and Luke Vibert, even if only out of novelty. This comp came out before the plethora of laptop glitch, and certainly before anyone had caught on to Leaf Records. Kinda proves as a good nostalgia point, if high frequency squeals brings fond water to the eyes. Here's a selection:

Fish Out of Water featuring Robert Wyatt - "Cry From the City": notable for Robert Wyatt (on vocals and piano) and not much else


David Kristian - "See Sawing Sea": included purely because I'm a sucker for the musical saw. From what I gather, Kristian hails from Montreal, wherein he'd do his own soundtracks for whatever old sci-fi films were playing at the tv station he worked at.


Richard Thomas - "An Itch You Can't Fucking Scratch": I like to imagine this is avant garde scratch dj work, but now imagine it more as someone fucking around with pro-tools or some such early on. Now I just like the title.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Clearing House: Pt 3


There was a time when Tim Goldsworthy (DFA, LCD Toasteroven) was hanging out with James Lavelle as Unkle. These tracks would have come out either while Goldsworthy was still with Unkle or shortly after he had left, and definitely before DJ Shadow had really come in and mixed it up. This would've also been a time when Lavelle was making worlds collide (well, hemispheres), and unearthing Japanese hip hop for the Western world: Nigo was better known for having one of a slew of Japanese albums out on Mo'Wax, and not for Bathing Ape.

The Unkle full-lengths that came out after these singles got slammed to no end, but a re-listen to these tracks don't exactly reveal alot of muster to begin with (caveat: I tended to like Psyence Fiction, and don't mind the other two albums that followed). I've posted a Dan the Automator remix too: it doesn't get more mid/late 90s than this.

"Berry Meditation":


"Last Orgy 3 (Dan the Automator remix)":


"Rock On (DJ Yas remix)":


While I'm at it, here's "Lesson 1" of the famed Double Dee & Steinski lecture series:

Monday, September 17, 2007

Clearing House: Pt 2

I'm pretty sure (read: not sure at all) that Mass in F Minor marks the first Electric Prunes which saw David Axelrod oversee production, most of the composition, etc. It's also around the same time that the group went through a major shift in line-up (around the same time Kenny Loggins joined the group). What's also noteworthy is the Prunes couldn't finish the record, and they had to farm it out to a Vancouver band, the Collectors.

In any case, Electric Prunes + Axelrod + faux religious mass = go nuts. Here's a smattering from the album.

"Gloria":


"Benedictus"


"Kyrie Eleison" (this probably has the most obvious Axelrod touches to it)


Sunday, September 16, 2007

Clearing House: Pt 1

Clearing space out of the garage - posting a few tracks before I delete them. Here's the Boredoms' Rebore vol. 3 (DJ Krush mix). DJ Krush selecting and mixing the Boredoms' back catalog - not nearly as blunted as you'd think.

Saturday, September 08, 2007

Emitt