LOWRIDER

 

Nothing says "lazy Friday" like a killer collection of freestyle, funk, R&B and street dance jams. Straight up. MC FROSTY. DAZZA. THE FLAVA SYSTEM. WORLD CLASS RECKIN' CRU. SETH LUV. BABY G. There's more, but really you just need to freak to ROCKY & MS. VEE "Dance Freak To The Beat" and fuck literally everything else. I know I said some things about punk music yesterday....you know what motherfuckers? I'm saying the same shit today listening to BY ALL MEANS KINGS and MILDRED BLACK so think about that maybe. Or just listen and fukkn ride...low.

LOWRIDER SOUNDTRACK VOLUME 2 

CRUCIAL '78

 

From the opening echoes of PRINCE JAMMY's track that sets the tones to a bizarre dub from JOE GIBBS & THE PROFESSIONALS to TRINITY to U-ROY's smooth rizzed out rock steady, Crucial '78 is a master class in dub, crackling beats and hopelessly infectious reggae adjacent sounds. A glorious (and presumably homemade) mix that truly makes you feel like you've been on a journey once it's finished.  

CRUCIAL '78

NORTHEASTERN HYMNS

 

You want something profound? Nah man, this is just four songs from four modern black metal bands I had never heard of before I listened to Northeastern Hymns. That's all. The OBSIDIAN FOREST and INFERNA BRUO tracks are exceptional. I don't like the other two quite as much, but that's just me, you know?

NORTHEASTERN HYMNS

BANGUN DARI MIMPI BURUK YANG INDAH

 

More like this please? Thank you. A breathtaking collection of raw fastcore, mince/grind, noise, shit-fi and punk, all delivered with a brilliantly honest lack of fidelity. DESTRUCT, PROJECT BABI NO.9, DEVIATED SYMPHONY, DIRTY MOUTH, NOISE FOR VIOLENCE and more, all hailing from Yogyjakarta. Shit just feels real, and the next 42 minutes of your life are about to get a lot more brutal. 

BANGUN DARI MIMPI BURUK YANG INDAH: A SOUNDTRACK FROM A PRINTMAKING

BARRIO MUSIC

 

I was biking home from practice tonight and spotted a lowrider mural on the side of a parklet on 24th  Street. Figured that shit was appropriate. These comps are life giving - even if you've heard every single one of these songs, context is everything. 

BARRIO MUSIC Vol.2

SUMATERA DISTORTION

 

Wild fukkn hardcore/DBeat comp with eighteen bands from Sumatra I had never heard of until yesterday. The cover says nineteen bands but.....maybe I just suck at editing which in turn sucks for you if you're tryna figure out what is what. But don't concern yourself with annoying details like than because every song rips so fukk it. Right? Right. Hardcore, grind, DBeat, crust, modern dupa-dupa squirms...the island of Sumatra fukkn delivers. CFD played the capital city of Medan in 2008 and there were 27 bands on the bill...I think it was a Tuesday. This collection was released in 2021 and all of the raw energy is still there - I'd love to go back and do that all again. Fukk - what I would give to just do the whole fukkn thing over from scratch, you know? Experience it all for the first time again. Instead there's this...and it's a killer consolation prize.  MEJA MAKAN, B.O.O.T., TOTAL GALAU, KUBU RIOT, THE PUNX TERIGU, TORRENT, RAWAN and loads more. Comps still rule - enjoy your Friday. 

SUMATERA DISTORTION: CASSETTE COMPILATION

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Tell me this isn't the most TE-appropriate description you've seen on these pages.
DISTORTION CASSETTE COMPILATION

D-70's

 

This was a freebie that Paul from Ragin' casually tossed in the pile when I snagged that grip of Lowrider and Barrio comps. Dude just added it to the pile like it was nothing special because he rolls that deep in the special shit...and rest assured that this is special shit. I could tell you it's essentially a disco comp, and you'd probably decide to blow it off. I could tell you that you probably know most of the songs here, and you'd probably decide that it's not worth your time. But you see.....those would be wrong decisions, because this mix is one of the best dancefloor smashers I have heard. Period. Every song is a straight killer, the sequence and the segues are simply flawless. PETER JAQUES, GIORGIO MORODER, SYLVER CONVENTION, DONNA SUMMER, THE MUSIC MAKERS, THE TRAMMPS, FOXY....and even though there is so much more, this comp is so much more than the simply sum of its parts, you know? Listen at full volume, and appreciate the generosity of others. 

D-70's

MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL

 

Doubling up on the comps this week to take a look at what the tastemakers at Maximum Rocknroll were shoving down our throats 32 years ago today. Honestly, this is a little taste of why some of "us" (I'm talking about some nebulous, royal "us" as in 'a general vibe not necessarily supported by facts') started to sour on the mag during the middle of the '90s. There was a perception that Tim & The Gang were moving away from hardcore and the burgeoning (and more metallic) crust/PV movements and just leaning on rehashed garage rock standards and classic "punk," just as they famously slammed the door on what was then called emo so drastically. Never mind the motivation behind any of the editorial decisions or the validity of any of these impressions....just listen to this radio show and know that, simply put: the nebulous, royal "we" were wrong. Garage rock? Sure, tons of it. Absolute screamers from PSYCHOTIC TURNBUCKLES, PSYCHOS, HEADCOATEES, MOE TOWN. Pre-alt/grunge explosion early cute from SMASHING PUMPKINS and MODHONEY. You've got NAPALM DEATH, FRUMPIES and GERMS in the same hour. And then there's the real reason we did (and still do) tune into MRR Radio - unknown and under-the-radar tracks from PRESSURE 28, FIGHTERS, JUDGE NOTHING, WOMBELS (the surprise highlight of this show for me), KEEP and others. These shows are fukkn priceless, period. And that magazine was (is) an institution for a fukkn reason. 

MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL #594

BARRIO MUSIC

 

Dedicated visitors will remember my excitement when I came into an entire set of the East Side Story comps. On that note, those who know me can imagine the look on my face when I was presented with the opportunity to score the first eleven volumes of the Barrio Music comps that started trickling out of Mexico in the 1980s. Essential....? I mean, you can listen to oldies on the radio if you prefer (or at least you used to could be able to do that but the radio is different now so I suppose it really depends on your market) but there's something about a perfectly crafted collection of songs, and that is exactly what these comps are. Much like East Side Story, these tapes are filled with standards that you (should) know inside and out ("I'm Your Puppet," "Seasons In The Sun") mingling with essential cuts like "Eighteen With A Bullet," It's Okay" and "Those Oldies But Goodies" that have spent decades in the shadows. These compilations create a vibe in the most glorious way, and I look forward to sprinkling the next tewn into your life. 

BARRIO MUSIC vol.1

RAÏ REBELS

 

Do I know anything about Raï? Before a few days ago I might have said "no" and today I might still say "no," but spend an afternoon with Raï Rebels and you'll want to know more. Algerian folk/protest sounds, led by cheb/cheba singers, chioukhs and cheikhates, who created mesmerizing and infectious sounds with roots in (resistance to) early 20th century colonialism. It's a different world, and the world is vast....

EARTHWORKS: RAÏ REBELS

99 LUFTBALLONS

 

I recall a post from years ago where I used the term NDW ("Neue Deutsche Welle" = "German New Wave") to describe IDEAL or EXTRABREIT or some similar artist. Someone got annoyed at the distinction because, well, isn't New Wave music just New Wave music? Why is there a Deutsche Punk or a Kraut Rock when we don't have designated and commonly accepted terms for punk, classic rock or new wave from other specific regions or countries? Perhaps it's because the Germans did (do) just hit differently, but also it's because it's just what the fukkn Germans called their shit, you know? Case and point, this stellar collection of commercial NDW bangers from 1983. Like a K-Tel cassette from across the pond, featuring hopelessly palatable and undeniably addictive cuts from EXTRABREIT, HUBERT KAH, FRL. MENKE (the least interesting artist on the tape, and the only one with two tracks), TRIO (you know the song even if you don't know you know the song), SPLIFF, NEON BABIES, JAWOLL and others, plus the title track from NENA. Just solid ass '80s summer hits - off kilter, infectious and definitely Deutsche. 

99 LUFTBALLONS
NDW - HITS FÜR UNTERWEGS

SEMARANG INDEPENDENT YOUTH

 

The title (and cover) should tell you everything you need to know here - fourteen raw punk tracks from the tail end of the first wave of DIY Indonesian hardcore. G-SQUAD, COP IS DEAD, PSYCHOTIC ILLUSION, REJECT, EJAKULATOR, 921 SUCKS, MORTAL SYATEM, LAYUR RIOT and a few more that you've never heard of unless you're way cooler than me (which, now that I think about it, isn't a terribly difficult accomplishment). Some "skinhead" tracks as the title suggests, but listen to the sonic brutality of NIHIL and know that this is ferocious street punk with some backing 'whooa-oooh's in the chorus. The recording and replication quality are part of the charm here and fidelity seekers will be suitably disappointed - the real punks will know that SUCK IT FRUIT sounds better when SUCK IT FRUIT kinda sounds like shit. 

SEMARANG INDEPENDENT YOUTH: PUNK SKINHEAD HARDCORE

LOWRIDER

 

I could go into the story about how this tape (and the next three volumes, and the Barrio Music comps and some face melting tech/grind tapes and some wild ass DIY LA party mixes) landed in my lap, but my recommendation is simple listening. Let me tell you what you'll hear: JOHN CHINGAS with one of the coolest love songs ever, RALFI PAGAN with one of the other coolest love songs ever, a couple of BABY G & ROCK BOX tracks, a killer from TIERRA that you have hopefully heard a thousand times, and oh my fukkn stars can we please get into the history of "Two Of Hearts" because I didn't know I could love this track more and apparently JON ST. JAMES is a thing I need to dig into. Fifteen tracks - Hi-NRG '80s meets classic cruisin' tunes.....even the most casual pop observers recognize that Lowrider culture is just fukkn cool, but this shit seals the deal. I can't wait to feed you more of this shit, it's amazing. 

LOWRIDER SOUNDTRACK VOLUME 1

FOUR WAY THUNDER ATTAKK!!!

 

Strap in, motherfukkrs. Forty-one blasts of lo-fi fastcore/grind in just under thirty minutes, featuring four of Indonesia's fiercest unknowns. SESAK NAPAS, SCREWFACE, URBAN SOLDIER and STANDARGANDA each have their own take on the "genre/s," but really this is just an exhausting and in your face sonic assault. Blast beats, samples, irreverence, high pitched screams, jack-off riffs - hit the time machine and drop this collection in 2001 and watch the nerds weep. 

INDONESIAN IV WAY THUNDER ATTAKK!!

MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL

 

A damn perfect episode. Only in the '90s you hear Dutch shredders CKN of a tape with FACE TO FACE or SAWHORSE sharing space with TRAH BRATS...ABC DIABOLO and MR. T EXPERIENCE. It was 1992, and GRIMPLE had just dropped their first EP. It was 1992, the ARTIFICIAL PEACE relic from this broadcast was scarcely a decade old but nonetheless (and appropriately) presented as "classic" North American hardcore. Just a damn perfect episode. Punk rules. 

MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL #535

DISTURBING THE COMMON PEACE

 

Recently received a request to re-up this one, and figured that a re-post would be better - the original post is fifteen years old after all, and who's really gonna dig that deep, right? 1984's Disturbing The Common Peace is the quintessential Greek punk comp, the dark and distinct sound that epitomized their scene through the next decade is captured here with EX HUMANS, STRESS and PANX ROMANA with the slightly lesser known ADIEXODO, CHAOS GENERATION and GROVER. Two tracks from each, bootlegged and reissued countless times since then....with good reason. 

ΔΙΑΤΆΡΑΞΗ ΚΟΙΝΉΣ ΗΣΥΧΊΑΣ

STATE IS DEAD

 

Three bands, and I am very glad I have not been hired to pick a favorite. RSG are raw crust-tinged fastcore/grind. SOCIAL DISTRUST are harsh, uncompromising and in your face crusty hardcore. AGGRESSOR have this bizarre clean guitar tone that almost sounds like it's sending a hearty fuck you to the rest of the band (and you) which is why that guitar is the thing that makes this band hum - shit is just unhinged and blown to fukk hardcore blasts. I'm glad that my job is just to share with you and not choose, because each of these three bands are straight up deadly. Thirty plus tracks filling up more that forty minutes.....listen to "No Seniority" by AGGRESSOR before you do anything else today. Please and thank you (and you're welcome)

STATE ID DEAD: 3 THRASHCORE SOLUTIONS

PURBALINGGA

 

A(nother) ripping collection of in your face, primal hardcore from Indonesia; been cranking through a heap of these lately and I'm not getting even remotely tired of the new (to me) sounds. Full throttle floppy 'hawk shit punk from SPATU BOOT, BLACK FROG, NDASZE and PROSOPIA (all seemingly recorded in the same studio on the same gear, assembly line style) with some raw grind crust from JACK BOAT. Each band contributes two tracks, and you'll feel more punk when you finish than you did when you started. Shit, you'll be more punk when you finish that you were when you started. 

PURBALINGGA: SCREAMING & LAUGHTER

GUNS FOR AFGHAN REBELS

 

I know what you're thinking - you're thinking "It's Friday so there's probably (hopefully) going to be a mix tape" and "There's been so much crucial Indonesian shit on The Escape lately, I would love a collection of bands I've never heard of from the world's fourth most populous country." Good news, punk: I have got you covered. THE STUPID are harsh, relentless and out of tune. MEINKAMPF (in addition to having a really unfortunate name) are also out of tune and have the weirdest duel vocal trade offs. DISPARATY are uncompromising ramshackle hardcore street punk (and also pretty much out of tune).  THE PLAGIATOR play catchy gruff punk anthems - kinda like WHITE TRASH SUPERMAN with super harsh vocals but from the world's fourth most populous country and definitely drunker (and also they are also pretty much out of tune most of the time). It sounds like the bands just lined up outside the studio and walked in one after another and banged their tunes out on the same equipment while the engineer slugged homemade swill and didn't move a single fader. Look, I would be lying if I told you that any single song on this tape was going to improve your life, but we listen to punk to hear punk - not to improve our lives. Sometimes we get both, but we're here for the punk.  So it's Friday, and I've got some intriguing Indonesian tapes burning a hole in my shelf...so you're welcome. 

GUNS FOR AFGHAN' REBELS: DOUBLE SPLIT EP

MINOR THREAT // BAD BRAINS: MIX TAPE

 A couple of weeks ago I posted some crucial live BLUE CHEER over on Escape Is Terminal. The tracks were taken from a couple of different sets recorded in 1968 and took up one side of a commercial blank tape, leaving the other side for a killer collection of tracks featuring BLUE CHEER offshoot MINT TATTOO and some Spanish garage slammers. Keeping with the same theme today, there are two wild sets over on the other blog from MINOR THREAT and BAD BRAINS - neither recording (or band) should need any introduction, but both were pulled off of a Philadelphia radio broadcast from 40 some-odd years ago....and someone had some space left on the flip side of their commercial mix tape. What follows is a casually curated mix that opens with two ubiquitous (and undeniable) classics and rolls into US hardcore and UK punk standards. For those among you who thought the perfect weekend afternoon mix tape didn't exist. 

MINOR THREAT // BAD BRAINS: MIX TAPE