various artists - Amphetamine Reptile • Peel Sessions

It seemed like a glaring omission when I saw that I didn't already own a copy of this (currently). So of course I spent the $1.99 to rescue this from a clearance rack last month, along with a Lou Reed "best of" and Boss Hog's "Girl Plus" EP. Because money comes and money goes, but one should never let a sweet deal for noise rock pass them by.

In my humble, stupid opinion, Helmet and Tar still have the standout tracks here. And that tracks with my taste, since both bands are ones that I keyed onto Back In The Day (TM) and spent my hard earned Taco Bell wages on. No $2 CDs back then, I can tell you. But I should not pay short shrift to Cows (I preferred the Heroine Sheiks) and Surgery, who had already dissolved in the wake of Sean McDonnell's death by the time I would have otherwise become aware of them.

This is one that is well worth a listen, as well as a limited edition reissue with all new Haze XXL art.

Discogs

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various artists - Manchester: So Much To Answer For - The Peel Sessions

Here's to all who are left standing after the great Zippyahare defuncting of 2023. And to those we left behind. You brought us Trojan rarities, world music I'd never otherwise discover, the rarest of KBD 7"s, and Peel Sessions galore.

This one's for y'all.

Discogs

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The Mummies - 1994 Peel Sessions

Happy All Hallows' Eve, me cobbers. Last year, I threw up a Mummies' post that the kids seemed to dig, so let's continue that tradition with another 7" slab of garage rock delights. This time, it's their 1994 Peel Session, bootlegged the following year and featuring a pretty great cover featuring our heroes in fine, cartoon fettle. I feel like it's well worth the $10 or so you'd pay from a Discogs seller, but you be the judge.

Break out your clodhoppers, light up the candles in the carved-out pumpkins, and blast on high.

Discogs

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Gang Of Four - The Peel Sessions (Album)

The O.G. lineup of Gang Of Four (King/Gill/Allen/Burnham) made four years of perfect post-punk from 1978-1981. That's not to downplay the "Songs Of The Free"/"Hard" catalog backend featuring Sara Lee or Jon Astrop on bass, but, let's face it, I'm not whipping out that live 12" of "Is It Love" any time soon. Give me "To Hell With Poverty!" or "Armalite Rifles" or "At Home He's A Tourist" and watch me dance. I'll take the agitprop any day.

I actually turned up a copy of "The Peel Sessions" long before I ever got any of G4's studio recordings, and the rawness of these three sessions probably colored my opinion of the group moreso than most other fans. The lack of overdubs or effects really puts me in the room in a way that their studio cuts, love them as I do, just can't. It's immediate, pulsing, sexy. I tip the cap to ol' Hank Rollins for ensuring their two Warner Bros. records got a comprehensive reissue via Infinite Zero around the time I finished high school, but this was my introduction. And it was fucking good.

I'd love to hear why this, amongst many other Peel Sessions records that found their way to the States via D.E.I., hasn't been reissued in 30 years. I know there's still an appetite for hearing these recordings, and it seems like a shame that someone hasn't stepped up to make sure there's ready access to them.

Discogs

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Bratmobile - The Peel Session

Photo by Pat Graham

If Bikini Kill was the riot grrrl band we aspired to, then Bratmobile was closest to what we'd become. A less shitty analogy: Bikini Kill was the crush a year or two ahead of you in high school; Bratmobile was the girl in your grade who you'd skateboard with and get kicked out of prom with.

Neither of those are putdowns of Bratmobile. I just felt an approachability with Bratmobile that I never got from B.K. As such, I'd like to go back in time and kick my own ass for not finding a way to see them at their 1999 reunion show in DC. I'll admit it; Braid was playing the same night in Baltimore with Kind of Like Spitting, and it was a righteous show. But I still feel some regret.

Enough about me. On to the recording. This was taped right after Bratmobile recorded their "The Real Janelle" 12", and was ultimately their only recording for John Peel's radio show. There's a quick Blur cover, as well as an early version of "And I Live In A Town Where The Boys Amputate Their Hearts" and a trio of cuts from "Pottymouth". All cut live to tape at Maida Vale. Delightful times. May all bands sound as vital and authentic as they do here.

Discogs

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Godspeed You! Black Emperor - Hung Over As The Queen In Maida Vale

Photo by J.M Giordano

What will we do
when it feels like the future is past?

Will a song still lift our spirits
boil our blood
lead us to search for something greater than us?

We ask ourselves
"Is the job worth doing?
"Who will protect me?
"Will I see tomorrow?"
when we suspect the answers are
"No."
"No one."
"No."

Let us
answer with conviction
let us
accept the flame and the gas and the rod
our backs are straight and our words pure

We have nothing but ourselves.

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Revised: Mega City Four - The Peel Sessions

I originally wrote some bullshit about the first of Mega City Four's two Peel Sessions all the way back in October 2008. It seems like a lot of people visit me to listen to this, so I felt I was overdue to revisit it. Here's what I rattled on about:

I had just written this moderately long screed about how you shouldn't trust hyped rock bands, and that's definitely true. But, in the end, it had nothing to do with what I wanted post today. Mega City Four is easily my all-time favorite Judge Dredd-related band. A lot of the kids here in Baltimore were/are totally fanboyish over MC4, or anything Wiz related. Two songs from this, MC4's first of two Peel Sessions, popped up on my iPod today, including "Clear Blue Sky", one of my favorite songs ever. I think this record had a different cover when it was in my dream the other night, but was definitely at the top of that stack. I can't believe this recording is 20 years old...

It'd only been a couple of years since Wiz died shortly after playing Baltimore when I originally posted this. Hearing my friends rave about MC4 led me to explore a whole world of early 90s British indie with their sandpaper melodies. It blew my mind that I hadn't heard more of bands like Ned's Atomic Dustbin, Snuff, Drive, and Senseless Things. "Clear Blue Sky" remains one of my favorite songs of all time; it, along with "Springtime" by Leatherface, come to mind anytime there's a nice April or May day.
Here's what you should know about this disc. It compiles a five-song Peel Session from 1988 (supporting "Tranzophobia") and a four-song Session from 1993 (behind "Sebastopol Rd"). Five years of regular touring and songwriting, as well as the various pop waves in the UK, have given the "Sebastopol Rd."-era songs a real shine that are not present in the 1988 session. That's not a bad thing, although I prefer the 1988 jams.

Is this era remembered fondly by any more than a handful of people nowadays? My gut says it's as small a group now as it was back then; the bloggers, the record collectors, the folks who still exist on the outskirts of the music industry. I hope this repost leads someone down the same path that I went in the early aughts. I think it's worth spending a tenner on.

Discogs

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The cutout bin dream

I just woke up from one of the craziest dreams I've had in a long time. I dreamt I was helping out at the old record store I used to work at, and Prince Charming Chaz came in with a huge stack of 7"s, CD's and LP's. The 7"s were all old Homestead, Gravity & No Idea releases. All the LP's were Dutch East India Peel Sessions releases. I don't remember much about the CDs, but, somehow, I got the entire lot for the $17 I had in my wallet. One of the 7"s had a vertical lap band with the Assuck logo on it, and was an 8-song comp with Naked Raygun on it.

Not that anyone cares, but it was a very good dream to wake up from.

Unsane - The Peel Sessions

The devil told me listening to Chris Spencer's bands was good for me, and who am I to argue with fallen angels?

And, by the way, why hasn't someone come along and reissued all the Matador & AmRep Unsane releases (and, no, that greatest hits thing that Relapse released 5 years ago doesn't count in my book)? It's all brutally awesome noise rock that still sounds fresh to me. If you ever had a death wish, this is probably what would be playing when you carried it out.










Unsane - The Peel Sessions

RIYL: the L.E.S. circa '91, Tom Hazelmeyer's gun collection, Chris X's mustache