Mixtapes

• Definitely Metal - 2020
• Not Metal - 2020
• New Old Stock
• Riot Grrrl Retrospective
• Indie Rock - 2014
• Metal - 2013

Definitely Metal - for Katie, 2020-04-20

A good sampling of the extreme metal I was excited about in 2020. download

• Krallice :: IIIIIIIIIIII (track 6) :: Years Past Matter
  Their first four albums are exactly what I want from Black Metal. After that the music got weird – technically impressive, but willfully difficult like avant jazz.
• Ash Borer :: The Irrepassable Gate :: The Irrepassable Gate
  Orthodox Cascadian Black Metal. One of my favorite bands for the last decade. The members have since moved on to many other fruitful projects.
• Corpsessed :: Sortilege :: Impetus of Death
  They’ve got a really solid and heavy sound. The drums feel immense.
• Portal :: ESP ION AGE :: Ion
  What is this stuff? What is wrong with the musicians? What is wrong with me that it’s one of my favorite albums of 2018?
• Blut Aus Nord :: Haallucinählia :: Hallucinogen
  French multi-instrumentalist Vindsval has been making all kinds of Black Metal under the Blut Aus Nord banner since the mid 90s. In the last decade the music has been more varied, incorporating electronic elements, and, with this release, some psychedelia.
• Tomb Mold :: Blood Mirror :: Manor of Infinite Forms
  A particularly nice example of what I think of as straight ahead Death Metal.
• Yellow Eyes :: Velvet on the Horns :: Immersion Trench Reverie
  I think of this as very pretty sounding music, which is an odd description given that the vocalist is screaming as if someone’s ripping out his innards.
• Aosoth :: Her Feet Upon the Earth, Blooming the Fruits of Blood :: V: The Inside Scriptures
  A hive of angry and enormous hornets pursues you through a church.
• Suffering Hour :: For the Putridity of Man :: In Passing Ascension
  Dissonant metal in the vein of Deathspell Omega, but without the orthodox Satanism, and with much less prominent vocals. A really solid debut album with good production.
• Jute Gyte :: Mansions of Fear, Mansions of Pain :: Ressentiment
  Microtonal Black Metal is never going to be a hit with the youth of today.
• Cobalt :: Arsonry :: Gin
  The album that got me into Extreme Metal. I love the lean and mean guitar tone.
• Salome :: Terminal :: Terminal
  Incredibly heavy doom and one of the best metal vocalists in the business (that’s a petite woman doing all that growling and screaming)
• Liturgy :: HAJJ :: H.A.Q.Q.
  Hunter Hunt-Hendrix gives every indication of being an insufferable bore, endlessly nattering on about “transcendental black metal music". Her music, however, is fascinatingly strange.
• Pig Destroyer :: Army of Cops :: Head Cage
  “Get on your knees / You know you want to” – This track just fucking destroys.
• Botanist :: Helleborus Niger :: I / The Suicide Tree
  Black Metal played on hammer dulcimers.
• Coffinworm :: Lust vs. Vengeance :: IV​.​I​.​VIII
  Hits like a dump truck filled with scrap iron and sewage. Feels like working the night shift in a cement plant. The soundtrack to what you wish would happen to the medical insurance industry. Horrible music for a bad world that’s not getting better.
• Lord Mantis :: Perverter of the Will :: Pervertor
  Ignore the hideous album art, pay attention to Bill Bumgardner’s (RIP) exceptional drumming.
• Enslaved :: Storm Son :: E
  My one guilty concession to Power Metal. Don’t tell anyone I have five of their albums.
• Death Fortress :: Scourge of Aeons :: Deathless March of the Unyielding
  By any objective measure this should not work – it’s repetetive, one note, no bass, no dynamics. But I love it right down to the incredibly cheezy titles (Enthroning the Oppressor, Power from Beyond the Stars, and of course the title track).
• Diocletian :: Wretched Sons :: Gesundrian
  Ugly and violent death metal.

Not Metal - for Katie, 2020-04-01

The first of a couple mix tapes for my nephew’s partner. This is a selection of tracks by indie bands that are (mostly) still going concerns in 2020 – I tried to avoid bands that were at their peak when she was in diapers. download

• mr. gnome :: Slow Slide :: Heave Yer Skeleton
  One of the best indie bands of the 21^st century. They switch seamlessly between reflective and rocking. One of Lori’s favorite bands.
• Helium Horse Fly :: Happiness :: Hollowed
  Eerie and unsettling in a way that appeals to me.
• Whores. :: I am Not a Goal Oriented Person :: Clean
  Christian Lembach snatched up the fallen banner of noise rock and carried it triumphantly into battle.
• Helen Money :: Radio Recorders :: Arriving Angels
  How hard can you rock with a cello? Pretty hard.
• Russian Circles :: Vorel :: Guidance
  A lot of instrumental rock gets boring after a few tracks but these guys have kept it interesting over the course of seven albums.
• Only Child Tyrant :: Monkey Box :: Time to Run
  Famed electronic producer Amon Tobin gives us his take on “indie rock”.
• H. Grimace :: She’s In a State
  The two tracks on this single are extremely catchy.
• Sleigh Bells :: Bitter Rivals :: Bitter Rivals
  They come so close to being exactly what I want from noise pop.
• Emma Ruth Rundle :: Protection :: Marked for Death
  Beautiful and melancholy music.
• Ken Mode :: Doesn’t Feel Pain Like He Should :: Loved
  Lurching post-punk.
• Isobel & November :: Usurper :: The Funeral Party
  The front man has a very compelling deep voice that really sells the material.
• Big|Brave :: On The By And By And Thereon :: Au De La
  Doomy music with almost chirpy vocals; works a lot better than the description would lead you to believe.
• Muscle & Marrow :: Sacs of Teeth :: Love
  Stumbled on this album randomly and was blown away. So of course the band decided to change their name and embark on a career of synth-pop. Oh well.
• Gold :: I Do My Own Stunts :: Optimist
  More heavy indie rock with female vocals. It’s my jam.
• Rainer Maria :: Suicides and Lazy Eyes :: S/T
  This late 90s indie band reformed after an eleven year hiatus and delivered their best work ever.
• tUnE-yArDs :: Gangsta :: W H O K I L L
  Merrill Garbus makes aggressively strange music that (mostly) works for me; YMMV.
• Atari Teenage Riot :: Destroy 2000 Years Of Culture :: The Future of War
  Pissed off German punks set out to curb stomp capitalism with electronic instruments.
• Sexwitch :: Ha Howa Ha Howa :: Sexwitch
  Electronic producer and indie vocalist collaborate on covers of 1970s Middle Eastern and Asian pop.
• Sannhet :: False Pass :: Revisionist
  Instrumental post-rock. The first album was almost Black Metal; by the third album they sound like the old 4AD band Dif Juz. This track from their second album splits the difference.
• Turing Machine :: Rock. Paper. Rock :: Zwei
  The track lives up to its name. Another favorite of Lori’s.
• The Austerity Program :: Song 30 :: Beyond Calculation
  Two guys and a drum machine, angular guitars, intelligent lyrics about outcast characters; comparisons to Big Black are inevitable, but they really do their own thing.

New Old Stock

A selection of mostly early 90s tracks from bands that didn’t get a lot of commercial radio airplay. Put together for a friend who wanted new-to-him music that sounded like what he loved in his youth. download

• His Name is Alive :: Livonia :: As We Could Ever
• Poster Children :: Daisychain Reaction :: Cancer
• Dickless :: The Grunge Years :: Saddle Tramp
• Curve :: Frozen :: The Colour Hurts
• Moonshake :: First :: Coward
• Swervedriver :: Rave Down :: Rave Down
• Les Thugs :: I.A.B.F_ :: I Love You So
• Poster Children :: Daisychain Reaction :: Water
• Belly :: Star :: Dusted
• The Feelies :: The Good Earth :: The Last Roundup
• Curve :: Frozen :: Coast Is Clear
• Arson Garden :: Under Towers :: Lash
• Arson Garden :: Under Towers :: Two Sisters (Love All Around Them)
• The Screaming Blue Messiahs :: Gun Shy :: Twin Cadillac Valentine
• My Bloody Valentine :: Loveless :: Only Shallow
• Th Faith Healers :: Dont Jones Me :: and then some :: Don’t Jones Me
• The Sundays :: Reading, Writing and Arithmetic :: I Won
• Loop :: A Gilded Eternity :: Breathe Into Me
• Rein Sanction :: Brocs Cabin :: Broc’s Cabin
• His Name is Alive :: Livonia :: e-nicolle
• The Ex :: Starters Alternators :: Lets Panic Later
• Mission of Burma :: Mission of Burma :: This Is Not a Photograph
• The Ex :: Starters Alternators :: Frenzy
• Codeine :: Barely Real :: Jr

Riot Grrrl Retrospective

An introductory class on the Riot Grrrl movement, at least as I experienced it. download

The Beginnings of the Movement:

1. Dickless :: Saddle Tramp :: The Grunge Years (1990)
   Yes, that’s a woman “singing”. Dickless was a half-joking project by the receptionist at Sub Pop Records. A few years later she put together a “real” band called “Teen Angel” with a similar sound.

2. Babes in Toyland :: Swamp Pussy :: Spanking Machine (1990)
   Kat Bjeland, this band’s frontwoman was in a band with Courtney Love (along with one of the founders of L7). It’s widely believed that Courtney took a lot of her schtick from Kat.

3. Hole :: Burn Black :: Teenage Whore EP (1991)
   Eventually Courtney Love married Kurt Cobain, and later turned into a celebrity trainwreck, but back in ‘91 she was making some visceral music.

Riot Grrrl Arrives

4. Bikini Kill :: Suck My Left One :: There’s a Dyke In the Pit (1992)
   These gals were the “founders” of the Riot Grrrl movement. Cranky feminist punk. Kathleen Hanna eventually married one of the Beastie Boys. There’s a good documentary about her, “The Punk Singer”, available on Netflix Instant. This track (and the next one) come from a 7" single I bought in ‘92.

5. 7 Year Bitch :: Dead Men Don’t Rape :: There’s a Dyke In the Pit (1992)
   Exploring some anger issues here…

6. The Gits :: Another Shot of Whisky :: Frenching the Bully (1992)
   Not exactly Riot Grrrl, but Mia Zapata, the frontwoman, was very influential. Sadly she was raped and murdered in 1993.

7. Team Dresch :: Hate The Christian Right! :: Personal Best (1995)
   A major Riot Grrrl and queercore band. All the members were out lesbians, and most of the songs addressed lesbian and feminist issues.

8. Sleater Kinney :: A Real Man :: Sleater Kinney (1995)
   Early Sleater Kinney music was very confrontational and political, with a strong feminist bent. Ten years later Corrin Tucker (the singer on this track) had changed her mind about men, marrying one and having a child. Carrie Brownstein is half of Portlandia.

Where it Went From There

9. Pet UFO :: Razor Burn :: My Name is Esther Cohen (1995)
   They have much of the sound of Riot Grrrl, but not so much of the politics.

10. Ruby :: Tiny Meat :: Salt Peter (1995)
    Ruby is a semi-solo project of Lesley Rankine, formerly of the punk band Silverfish. Doesn’t sound very Riot, but the themes are definitely Grrrl.

11. Quails :: Taken :: We Are The Quails (2001)
    By the turn of the century the Riot has turned to introspection.

Indie Rock - 2014

download

1. Discount :: Broken to Blue :: Crash Diagnostic (2000)
   Allison Mossheart’s first band.

2. Sleigh Bells :: Bitter Rivals :: Bitter Rivals (2013)
   Chunky sounding pop music.

3. Team Dresch :: Fagetarian And Dyke :: Personal Best (1995)
   Another killer track from the best lesbian punk album ever.

4. Come :: Dead Molly :: ElevenEleven

5. mr. Gnome :: Slow Side :: Heave Yer Skeleton

6. The Dagons :: I Am Not Nice :: Upon The Dull Earth (2011)

7. Julie Christmas :: Six pairs Of Feet and One Pair Of Legs :: The Bad Wife (2010)
   Julie was the front woman of Made Out of Babies.

8. Ben Frost :: The Teeth Behind Kisses :: A U R O R A (2014)

9. mr. Gnome :: Bit of Tongue :: Madness in Miniature (2011)

10. Sleigh Bells :: A/B Machines :: Treats (2010)

11. Witch Mountain :: Psycho Animundi :: Mobile of Angels (2014)
    This chick has serious pipes.

12. Come :: One Piece :: Gently, Down The Stream
    IMNSHO the best album of the mid 90s.

13. Marnie Stern :: Vibrational Match :: In Advance Of The Broken Arm (2007)
    Marnie looks like Cameron Diaz and shreds like Eddie Van Halen.

14. Consolidated :: You Suck :: Play More Music (1992)
    Crass humor, but a great dance track.

15. Atari Teenage Riot :: Atari Teenage Riot :: Atari Teenage Riot 1992 - 2000
    Crazy German punks making horrible noise. One of their songs is “Destroy Two Thousand Years of Culture”.

16. Matson Jones :: A Little Bit Of Arson Never Hurt Anyone :: Matson Jones (2005)
    A cello trio making rock music. “Think Yeah Yeah Yeahs, not Yo-Yo Ma”.

17. Kevin Hufnagel :: Perpetual Shadow :: Ashland (2013)
    Solo baritone ukulele. You don’t hear that every day.

Metal - 2013

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• Sun Worship :: Insight :: Split w/ Earth Chaos (2012)
• Shallow North Dakota :: Waking the Herd :: Mob Wheel
• Cough :: Athame :: Reflection of the Negative (2013)
• Eight Bells :: Tributaries :: The Captain’s Daughter (2013)
• Solar Halos :: Frost :: 2012 Demos (2012)
• Mare Cognitum :: Pyre of Ascendance :: An Extraconscious Lucidity (2012)
• Lord Mantis :: Septichrist :: Pervertor (2012)
• Woe :: Carried By Waves To Remorseless Shores Of The Truth :: Withdrawal (2013)
• Sannhet :: Safe Passage :: Known Flood (2013)
• Mares of Thrace :: The Pragmatist :: The Pilgrimage (2012)
• Helen Money :: Upsetter :: Arriving Angels (2013)
• Kommandant :: Victory Through Intolerance :: The Draconian Archetype (2012)
• Flourishing :: Intersubjectivity :: Intersubjectivity (2012)
• Vestal Virgin :: The Feeding :: The Four Meditations
• KEN mode :: Your Heartwarming Story Makes Me Sick :: Entrench (2013)
• Batillus :: Mirrors :: Concrete Sustain (2013)
• Inter Arma :: ‘sblood :: Sky Burial (2013)
• Darkthrone :: Leave No Cross Unturned :: The Underground Resistance (2013)
• Planks :: Agnosia Archetype :: Funeral Mouth (2012)