j's indie/rock mayhem - 25th january 2006

[another week and another new feature to the show. 2006 just keeps on rolling them out. this week, it's the premiere of the montly labels that matter feature. each month, the last wednesday of the month, i will feature a record label that has, well, mattered to college radio and indie-rock over the past 20 or so years. and we kicked it off in grand style with chicago, illinois' touch and go records. next week we'll be back to normal shows until the end of february when our next label will be featured. onward.]

Theme Song - Peaches - "Rock Show"
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Animal Collective - "Grass" [from their latest album feels. animal collective is one of those bands i probably should have been playing on my show some time ago, but i just haven't been eager to buy into the critical raves about them, despite having heard their, admittedly, excellent album sung tongs from two years ago. i may have to change my tune and soon.]
Sleater-Kinney - "Get Up" [definitely my favorite track from 1998's the hot rock.]
Afghan Whigs - "What Jail Is Like" [by request. from their amazing album gentlemen. the afghan whigs are one of my favorite bands of all time and this album especially is the reason why. 90s rock rarely got better.]
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah - "Upon This Tidal Wave of Young Blood" [from their self-titled debut. this is another one of the bands that critics have been planting wet, sloppy ones on recently. honestly, they don't sound like what i had expected, which in this case is good. i liked this song. we'll have to see more.]
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[here begins the touch and go records feature. most of these songs are available for download. you can also check out these bands (and download the full albums) on emusic.com, which is a godsend for indie-rock digital downloading.]

Man or Astro-Man? - "Interstellar Harddrive" [from 1999's EEVIAC: operational index and reference guide. part of the wonderful surf-revival of the 90s, man or astro-man still puts out new records, though not at the same pace as they once did. i really enjoy this album a lot and if you don't like these guys, you have no soul. period. so you better click here to download.]
TV on the Radio - "Staring at the Sun" [from their debut LP, 2004's desperate youth, blood thirsty babes. definitely one of the more unique bands to emerge in past years, ranging all over the sonic map, yet still pulling together a cohesive, enticing sound.]
Killdozer - "Hottentot" [from the 1986 burl EP. killdozer is kind of an odd, bludgeoning band with sometimes bizarre, almost smug and dumb lyrics. while certainly not for every one, they are a unique band.]
the New Year - "Sinking Ship" [former members of bedhead came together to form this group. this is from their 2004 LP the end is near. a much softer, slower brand of rock than is typical for touch and go, but no less engaging. click here to download.]
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the Didjits - "Gold El Dorado" [one of my favorites of the touch and go stable. from their 1990 album hornet pinata. like revved up rockabilly (easily one of my favorite punk sub-genres), this stuff is addictive. click here to download.]
!!! - "Dear Can" [the name is pronounced "chk chk chk" or so the sticker on the cd says. makes me think of a drummer counting off the beginning of a song. dancey, diverse with noises, and quite engaging, louden up now was one of those records that really just kind of came out of nowhere it seemed. although they were lumped in with the ultimately un-impressive dance punk revivalists like the rapture, radio 4, etc, they did manage to make one of the most truly enjoyable records of that flash of necrophelia.]
Blonde Redhead - "Sumiasen" [from an expression of the inexpressable, a truly amazing record. i played another song off of this album last week, unintentionally, and here they are again. noisy while being simultaneously almost groovy in a dirty, winding kind of way. click here to download.]
Flour - "Blood" [from their self-titled 1988 album. it took me until the radio show to track down music by these guys and it's a shame. tinny sounding guitars alá early killing joke, it's a very 1988 sounding album. but that's not necessarily a bad thing. there are way, way, way worse ways to sound 1988.]
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Polvo - "d.d. (s.r.)" [a band that was specifically mentioned to me when i talked about doing this show. from their 1997 album shapes. intricate, distorted, almost dancey. polvo is a unique band whose sonic soar from one height to one low. you'll just have to listen to see. click here to download.]
the Mekons - "Hole in the Ground" [from 1987's honky tonkin'. the mekons are one of those bands that either inspire rabid praise or puzzled looks. they've been all over the musical map as this album's forey into honky-tonk country proves. a caveat, however: this album was originally issued on twin/tone / a&m records, but it has been re-issued on touch and go. so, not quite a true touch and go artist, but member sally timms has released solo work on touch and go. click here to download.]
Bedhead - "Bedside Table" [from 1994's what fun life was. an album that marked the true beginnings of that most sub of sub-genres, slowcore. i can name you two slowcore bands off the top of my head: bedhead and low. anything else, i just don't know much about. this is an engaging listen though, even if it's at a snail's pace.]
Don Caballero - "Dick Suffers Is Furious With You" [from don caballero II. i don't know how to describe these guys much more than to throw out terms like "post-rock," "mathy," and maybe even "progressive." there's something a lot bigger than the sum of those parts, and then some, however. be not mistaken: don caballero is loud. and it's good. click here to download.]
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Big Black - "Columbian Necktie" [you have no idea how disappointed i am that i couldn't get a digital copy of this for you to download. from the infamous songs about fucking, big black : ears :: sandpaper : a bar of soap. and oh, how enjoyable it is. persistant, pounding drum machine percussion and thrashy, tinny guitars. and steve albini's screaming, metallic vocals. big black was an amazing creature.]
Scratch Acid - "Flying Houses" [from the greatest gift, a scratch acid best-of collection. this song is from their 1987 EP berserker. two of the members went on to found the jesus lizard if that gives you any point of comparison. and it should. click here to download.]
Die Kreuzen - "Slow" [this song, from 1988's century days, seems actually a bit sweet and soft for this band, but it's still an excellent example of what was going on with the band. click here to download.]
Pinback - "Sender" [from the summer in abaddon album. i've never been huge on pinback, but this album isn't bad. much more melodic than most of the stuff i've played, but equally engaging.]
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Girls Against Boys - "Rockets are Red" [now the cream of the crop. my favorite touch and go band. from their 1994 album venus luxure no. 1 baby. when i was 15 or 16, no one in the world sounded heavier than GvsB did on their albums. perspective has only slightly lightened my ideas about them. detached cool vocals. vibrant, almost hypnotic fuzz and distortion. and this ever propelling bass sound that bottomed like you wouldn't believe. please. for the love of god, click here to download.]
the Jesus Lizard - "Puss" [from the album liar. it's raging, it's screaming, it's almost unlistenable at times. but the jesus lizard were truly above and beyond what people thought was capable of doing with a traditional guitar/bass/drums combo. click here to download.]
Urge Overkill - "The Candidate" [another band that has done nothing but grow in my esteem over time. from their last album for touch and go, the supersonic storybook. it's hard to describe the sound these guys whipped up since it really stood out from their contemporaries. pop without sacrificing style or substance. stylish without sacrificing credibility. they straddled the line brilliantly. click here to download.]
Butthole Surfers - "The O-Men" [easily touch and go's most polarizing artist. from the absolutely hilarious and frightening locust abortion technician. "like a bad acid trip" is how the allmusic reviewer helped describe this album and it's not hard to hear what he means. if you think you're ready, click here to download.]
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Dirty Three - "Doris" [our last touch and go band of the night. from their latest, 2005's cinder. great instrumental stuff with driving drums, swirling sounds and some amazing melodies.]
His Name Is Alive - "Universal Frequencies" [from the excellent stars on e.s.p.. they actually have a new album out that we'll hopefully have up here soon. another band well worth hearing.]
Lazlo Bane - "Overkill" [boston, mass's lazlo bane and their excellent cover of the men at work classic with colin haye guest vocalizing. from 11 transistor.]

That's going to do it for this week. Next week we'll be back to the normal great mix of music. Scheduling is done this Sunday, so I will be doing my best to retain this slot. I should be here, but if not, check the blog for new location. Until then, take care.