j's indie/rock mayhem - 22nd february 2006

UPDATE: Download links are now working. Thank you for your patience.

[a tremendous show tonight, half split between new music and this month's labels that matter feature. this month we took a look at SST records out of los angeles, california. a really, truly, undeniably important label in the history of american independent music.

today also marked the 10th anniversary of the funeral of ex-replacements guitarist bob stinson. even though i'll be a little late, next week will feature a little bit of a tribute to a guitarist whose presence is sorely missed in rock and roll. in the meantime, onward.]

Theme Song - Peaches - "Rock Show"
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Destroyer - "3000 Flowers" [from the brand new album destroyer's rubies which just came out yesterday. destroyer is mainly the vehicle for dan bejar, most notably of the new pornographers. this is destroyer's 7th album and quite possibly it's finest hour. pure, orchestrated pop magistry that sails along on its own compass. this is absolutely one of the best records i've heard so far this year. click here to download.]
Boogie Down Productions - "South Bronx" [from the legendary debut album criminal minded. boogie down productions was of course the work of scott la rock and krs-one and this song is one of their most famous. this is on the first volume of the new tommy boy records 12-cd box set hip-hop essentials 1979 - 1991. it's an ambitious set and one whose time has really come.]
Afghan Whigs - "Somethin' Hot" [the dynamic lead track from their swan-song, the fiery 1965.]
the Strokes - "On the Other Side" [by request. from their newest, first impressions of earth. i've never been a huge fan of the strokes, although, honestly, a copy of the modern age EP does reside in my collection.]
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Belle and Sebastian - "Sukie in the Graveyard" [from the new album the life pursuit. a really sharp record that is growing on me with each listen. i think it's one of their finest. click here to download.]
Citified - "Secret Knock" [north carolina, y'all. the last word i heard was that citified was working on a new album that will hopefully be due out later this year, but until then, it was about time i revisited the excellent self-titled EP from last year.]
Test Icicles - "Snowball" [for screening purposes only is the name of the album from this british band. i wasn't blown away by this, as i've heard quite a bit of noise about this band, but hadn't heard them until tonight. but it's not bad and at least it doesn't sound like every other british export of the moment. and then that'll teach me for speaking too soon. while cruising over to pitchforkmedia.com to look up a bit of information, i read on the news just now that the test icicles are calling it quits after their april british tour. so get it while it's hot, mates.]
the Streets - "Dry Your Eyes" [another streets track this week to try and soothe my nerves for the forthcoming the hardest way to make an easy living which is due out here in the states on april 25th. can you say 'blubbering with excitement?' from his latest, a grand don't come for free.]
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Josh Rouse - "Quiet Town" [from the forthcoming subtitulo which will be available on march 21st here in the u.s. josh actually has a pretty nice deal going at his official site where if you pre-order the album by march 19th, you'll receive access to a free download of a "dress rehearsal" performance for his spring tour and a year's subscrption to the fantastic paste magazine. quite a deal. click here to download.]
the Velvet Crush - "Time Wraps Around You" [my thoughts of this album are tied up in lengthy drives up to see my beloved in asheville. this song, especially (and they're nearly perfect rendition of gene clark's "why not your baby"), holds a large place in my mind. teenage symphonies to god is one of the best power-pop albums of the 90s and beyond.]
Toad the Wet Sprocket - "Nightengale Song" [from 1991's fear. there are really vague and unsubstantiated rumors that toad is working on another set of reunion shows, but frankly, i'll believe it when i'm backstage again.]
Ryan Adams - "Magnolia Mountain" [the lead track from the first disc of the cold roses double-LP. this is the song that fully convinced me that maybe i was willing to give ryan another shot. it paid off substantially last year.]
Josh Ritter - "Girl in the War" [from his forthcoming album the animal years which is due out april 11th here in the u.s. oh, so exciting. of course he's not coming to NC on the spring tour. grumble. click here to download.]

[here begins the SST records feature. several of these songs will be unavailable for download, so i apologize, but the majority of them are here. SST is full of bands that i don't know as much about as i should, but i picked as broad a selection as i could of bands that represent california independent music. hope you enjoy.]

Bias - "Model City" [a busy and almost dancey/industrial type track from a band i know little about other than that they are/were on SST records. from the album model citizen. click here to download.]
Screaming Trees - "Where the Twin Shall Meet" [from 1989's buzz factory, their last album with SST before the jump to epic records. the trees were a different bird than your average SST artist with some serious jangle and psychadelic influences that just didn't show up elsewhere. this is a track i really wish i could've gotten a copy for y'all to hear. maybe soon.]
Mojack - "Acid-dropping Nobel Prize Winner" [from the merchandising murder album. one of SST founder greg ginn's many side projects. more to be heard than described. click here to download.]
Overkill - "Hell's Getting Hotter" [one of several bands on the blasting concept compilation, one of raymond pettibone's most notorious SST album covers. this is the original SST compilation from 1983. several songs from this were played tonight.]
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Descendents - "Suburban Home" [big, dumb, fun punk rock. had i heard more of these guys when i was 14 or 15, i'd probably still love them ceaselessly. as it is, i can only appreciate them so often. but milo goes to college is a hoot none the less. click here to download.]
Soundgarden - "All Your Lies" [from their debut ultramega OK LP. i waxed a bit about how, doubtlessly, there is some kid out there who loves audioslave that has never heard soundgarden, especially anything like this. soundgarden became a much better band later on, but this debut is really not anything to sneeze at. click here to download.]
Gone - "Get Gone" [another of greg ginn's sideprojects, this one being more of a punk/classic rock/jazz hybrid that bounces around. again, more to be heard than talked about. click here to download.]
Wurm - "Get Revenge" [another band from the blasting concept compilation. thrashy, yelling hardcore back when hardcore was..well..hardcore.]
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the Minutemen - "Bob Dylan Wrote Propaganda Songs" [from what makes a man start fires? here's where we really started into the big names of the SST roster. the minutemen were unlike anyone before, during, or after them. bands are still playing catch-up to their early 80s output. click here to download.]
the Minutemen - "The Glory of Man" [i also started doubling up the bigger names at this point in order to fill out the hour. this is from their masterpiece, the epic, 43 song, double-album double nickles on the dime. click here to download.]
fIREHOSE - "Sometimes" [this is from their 2nd album if'n. fIREHOSE : new order :: the minutemen : joy division. (thanks, jay, for that analogy.) lose a main member, plug on without him. although there was an added member to make fIREHOSE, with the exception of the late d. boon, all the original members (all two of them) are here. click here to download.]
fIREHOSE - "In Memory of Elizabeth Cotton" [a song dedicated to the memory of north carolina blues/folk artist elizabeth cotton. a really sweet and different song compared to the rest of this tremendous album. also from if'n. click here to download.]
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the Meatpuppets - "Tumblin' Tumbleweeds" [from their self-titled debut. things wouldn't get really strange until their follow-up album, the legendary II, but this album is odd enough in its own right. the meatpuppets were the goofy, ridiculous, and honestly kinda scary cousin to the rest of the hardcore scene. click here to download.]
the Meatpuppets - "Meat Puppets" [hey, it's kinda like that bad religion song "bad religion?" it's like a title track, but for the band! click here to download.]
Saccharine Trust - "Effort to Waste" [from we became snakes, another band that was completely not within the norm of SST's lineup. of course, i'm sure someone will jump in and chastise me for saddling SST with a normative sound in the first place, but come on, really now. the point is great, free-jazz influenced and disconcerting. that's a great combo. click here to download.]
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Hüsker Dü - "Real World" [from their metal circus EP. really, truly a fantastic song that showcases perfectly the huskers mix of loud, abrasive, hardcore and melodic, pop sensitivity. a rare and tremendous balance.]
Hüsker Dü - "Something I Learned Today" [from their double album, the blitzkreig zen arcade. it was this album, and the news that the huskers were recording a double album, that inspired the minutemen to record their double album, the aforementioned double nickles...]
Black Flag - "Rise Above" [the flagship band (no pun intended) of the entire outfit. greg ginn's baby and the band that gave us henry rollins. we've never been the same since. for my money, the L.A. punk band was X, but black flag was certainly right there with them, though in very different quarters. from the debut damaged. click here to download.]
Black Flag - "T.V. Party" [also from damaged. i first heard this song when they played the video on 120 minutes on mtv. i thought it was the stupidest thing i'd ever heard. i still find it hard to listen to it as the ironic song that it is. not knowing black flag, i totally took them at face value and hated it. it's still not my favorite song of theirs by any means. click here to download.]

That's it for this week. We'll be back to the regular show next week, with the exception of the Bob Stinson 10 year tribute. Until then, take care.