Top 100 Albums of the '80s

I was looking around for Boredoms' lyrics this morning and I came across this link in the Boredoms Soul Discharge wiki for Pitchfork's Top 100 Albums of the 1980s. Scanning though, there are a number of my favorite albums represented here. By the way, Soul Discharge comes in at 89:

Boredoms' first full-length gave adventurous listeners something disturbing and more than a little stupid to chew on, but Soul Discharge was arguably their greatest early example of their thrilling widescreen outbursts. They played Sabbath riffs over ramshackle, caveman Japanese Court beats; they managed to mangle even the most rudimentary garage pound, creating a soundtrack for scat-porn toons and destroying cats; and, of course, they managed to provide a lifetime of jams at a fraction of the sanity.

This is one of my favorite records -- "Bubblebop Shot" is simply awesome. Strange, fast, punk, noise, and off-the-wall crazy, this song will leave a weird feeling inside your ears.

At top 100 spot is Minor Threat's Out of Step EP. A great record; however, I still like their first 7" EP, Minor Threat, better. Eight songs of punch-you-in-the-face awesomeness, clocking in at just over nine minutes. The Out of Step EP has a different production sound than their early records, which sound more raw.

At number 54 is Big Black's Songs About Fucking. One of the records that started me down the road of noisy rock, this is one that I'll still put on every once in awhile. Though I think that vocalist/guitarist Steve Albini's other project from the '80s, Rapeman, was better, especially the Budd EP.

Mission of Burma's Signals, Calls, & Marches comes in at 53. This is record that I've been trying to get a copy of for quite a while. Everyone tells me that I'd really like it...

Hüsker Dü's Zen Arcade gets the number 32 spot on the list. I didn't really like this record much the first time I heard it; however, letting it sit for a while and coming back put the record in a new perspective. Zen Arcade is good, but Land Speed Record is by far my favorite Hüsker Dü album. Despite it being live, I think this record captures the intensity and rawness of the band much better than any of their studio albums. And "Data Control" is just plain awesome.

Coming in at number 25 we have Black Flag's Damaged. While I generally dislike Henry Rollins' vocals (Keith Morrison's vocals for the Nervous Breakdown EP captured what I feel is the band's signature sound; the title track is one of those songs that you can listen to over and over again), for Damaged they work surprisingly well.

That's about it for some of my favorite records making the list -- there are other bands on the list I like; however, Pitchfork chose records that aren't really my favorites. Of all the Sonic Youth that made the list, Pitchfork left off Bad Moon Rising. There's also a lot of Pixies records on the list; while I used to like that band much more when I was younger, I haven't listened to them in years. Only a few songs by them can be recalled from my memory. Other bands on the list that I've been meaning to listen to more of are The Fall, The Jesus & Mary Chain, Public Image Ltd., and Minutemen. PiL's First Edition is amazing -- "Theme" is a prefect record opener, and Lydon's lyrics for "Religion" (I & II) are a penetrating stab against that social malignancy akin to the Crass song "Asylum." But I still need to check out PiL's Metal Box, or Second Edition as it is also known.

John Wiese: Soft Punk

I bought John Wiese's Soft Punk -- released on Troubleman Unlimited -- many months ago, though I hadn't a chance to sit down and really listen to it until a few days ago. This would be my first exposure to John Wiese himself; I am familiar with some of the other bands he as worked with, though, I am not familiar with the music he has done with those bands. I bought the record on a whim too, at the recommendation of a friend. I didn't have any expectations.

Listening to the album from start to finish in one sitting was an intense experience. This is the kind of record that requires a lot of endurance from the listener -- you will experience listener fatigue. It's loud, harsh noise for a lot of the album, and it's relentless. There are some breaks in the noisy harshness, though, these breaks are rare. Some of the breaks that I did enjoy most were the when I could make out punk-influenced drum beats and vocals that had been heavily distorted and looped over themselves again and again to create a distinctly new pattern from the original sample. It brought to mind an old punk motto from UK band Discharge -- Noise Not Music. The album is a lot of mood and atmosphere, almost no melody at all, and lots of chaos. I like all these things about the album -- its what I feel to be the best reflection of reality, and it's what generally drew me to noise in the first place.

I like the idea of enduring a record -- I'm not sure why, but I find it appealing. I suppose it's because the necessary endurance makes me focus more closely on what I'm subjecting my ears to. I also really like the chaotic nature of the record, as it's completely unpredictable and without conclusion. Even though it may all blend together into a cacophony of white noise at parts, my endurance-induced close focus will find further patterns of noise within the noise. So, depending on my own focus while listening, the noise can have a different sound upon another listening.

I'd definitely recommend listening with headphones -- you won't be able to get the full experience though speakers. Wiese uses stereo headphones to his advantage by switching different sounds through left/right earphones commonly throughout the entire album. The effect created from this cacophony was physically noticeable -- kind of like how a heavy bass sound feels at a live concert, though, this is forced back and forth between your ears.

Overall, I liked it. I don't think most other people would. It's not the kind of record that you can jump into noise with -- this is more of an end result than a starting point. Those unfamiliar with the genre, I recommend listening to it once at first (and not necessarily the whole thing). I think it's likely that you won't think much of the record, so put it away for awhile. Come back to it months or even years later and I think you'll have a new appreciation for it.

New Sightings

I just ordered the newest Sightings LP, Arrived In Gold. Expect a review when it arrives in the mail.

I'm looking forward to this one! A sample track can be heard on the Load Records website.

Sightings S/T LP

I apologize to my handful of readers out there for not getting my Sightings LP review up sooner. I have listened to the whole record several times over, and I'm very impressed.

Over at Load Records, you can find the bands page, as well as a sample track from this record, entitled, "Cuckoo."

I really like those record -- unadulterated, raw noise rock, and the record never fails to please. Screeching vocals, overbearing guitars, distortion-driven drums -- it's all there. I think I'll take a chance on the latest offering available on Load Records, Available in Gold, as well. A sample track for that record, "Dudes," can be found on the Load Records website. The sound has definitely progressed and transgressed since that first LP release, and the trance-like, distortion-laden soundscape created on that track is rather compelling. I'm just glad the LP is still available.

If you like that Sightings track on the S/T LP, I'd recommend checking out some of the rock-based stuff from Gang Wizard, another interesting, avant garde/noise rock musical machine. I have the Jeckyll Loves Hyde LP, which has a few very raw noise rock pieces like the Sightings LP, but also some more spacey, experiemental pieces. An interesting record, nonetheless.

Hair Police - "Obedience Cuts"

I haven't posted in a while, so I thought I should get something up. I've been rather busy lately, but there are some new developments... I recently obtained a rare Hair Police record, entitled, "Obedience Cuts." The release I have is from their 2006 European tour (of which only 40 were made), and comes with a CD remix called "Obedience Killed" as well as a live DVD. It's a re-release, but I felt it was worth the cost due to it's rarity and the extra media included. I haven't had a chance to listen to or watch either the CD or the DVD, but I have had the opportunity to listen through the LP once -- and I was not disappointed.

That's the LP cover, and the music lives up to the cover art. The first track starts with a punch in the face: pure decadence, decay, and dissection of distorted noise and melted vocals layered over-top of apocalyptic, end-of-life-as-we-know-it drumming. I remember listening to this record a few years ago and not being that impressed, but my musical tastes were rather rudimentary back then. Listening to the record now, I'm blown away. This is a "must-have" in my collection now. I can't wait to see the live DVD, as I have heard that their live shows are more intense and destructive than any of their recordings.

Before getting this record, I had already bought a copy of Hair Police's "Constantly Terrified" LP, but was bored with that. It seems that the band had moved into a more nuanced noise/experimental musical path, and I felt it lacked the intensity of "Obedience Cuts." Without the noisy, hard-hitting drumming, I just wasn't into it as much. Sort of what happened with Black Dice -- that band's early Gravity Records releases were pure noise rock of an extremely violent and abrasive nature, but their later material moved into this strange experimental/random sounds approach that lacked the initial intensity of their early work. I suspect that much of the Hair Police's later material will be more like "Constantly Terrified," and I will probably refrain from collecting any more of the band -- unless I'm able to hear something in advance of purchasing it.

I also obtained a copy of Sightings' first LP on Load Records. As soon as I get a chance to listen through, I'll post what I think about it.