Her Stems Spiral - Princess Poured Out The Pale Winter Moon digital EP

I say this all the time, but the best selling point, to your music is the packaging, just love this cover art on this one and it fits nicely with the music...other worldly.  Shannon, who essentially is the entire band (with help from Matthew on drums/percussion) hit me up to give his creation a listen )on a side note his was the most polite and personal request I have had yet for a review). This thing came all the way from South Africa, via wires and whatnot, to basically unsettle my brain. My reply to Shannon was, "As far as the tunes, wow! Shoegaze is a category I've heard of but honestly couldn't name one band that fits that description, and math-rock is something I am only lately getting in touch with. If those are what you are then I can dig it. I realize that you are playing live instruments, one at a time anyway, but the sound has an industrial vibe, which is way up on my radar. Jazzy too, which says a lot about your musicianship. Love the cover art, would really look good on a hard copy."  In response to my ignorance of the shoegaze/math rock genres, Shannon mentioned that this music had been influenced by, "Alcest, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Kayo Dot, Dråpe, Chelsea Wolfe, My Bloody Valentine, The Blood Brothers etc"...I honestly have never heard of any of these bands.  So let HSS be my introduction, and I'll be damned if I'm not impressed.  The bio from Last.FM reads "Her Stems Spiral is an avant-garde/shoegaze project started by Shannon Lawlor of the Johannesburg based post-rock band Eyes Like Mirrors. It was created as an entity to explore the realms of experimental music and unconventional song-writing. Dreams, or the unconscious mind played a major role in the development of this release. Lyrics range from stories of the past, to mother nature’s revenge, and even some self-reflection. Shannon’s first effort titled “Princess Poured Out The Pale Winter Moon” was recorded in a small independent studio called MoonSwing, in Johannesburg, South Africa, from mid 2012 – early 2013 using a single condenser microphone, and limited to hardware/software. All vocals and instruments were written and composed on the spot in studio, as an experiment to conduct the relationship between the subconscious subliminal influence and the unconscious fantasies of the mind." To summarize all that, what you have is a guy who has written, composed and performed something of a exquisite enigma. It's a bit of a strange this, ranging from dreamy to intense. You wouldn't think that it had been so impromptu, the songs don't seem to be thrown together as much as wrought or forged. And with a guy playing so many separate tracks, it doesn't sound like ten different incarnations of Shannon doing completely different things, but much more harmonious...in a chaotic sort of way. There are some King Crimson moments here and there, sometimes it reminds me of one of my favorite bands Creedle, and overall it has a jazzy quality to it. Not being a musician, I'm sure that some of this is way over my head, because, in case you didn't know it, musicians talk to each other through their music, without the rest of us knowing they're doing it. Like Frank Zappa who always surrounded himself with the best of musicians, Shannon has done a great service to his music, by having Mathew sit in on drums. By all rights and purposes he is a part of this the music, just like a guitar has two E strings. Shannon had been playing in the band Eyes Like Mirrors, but I think they are on a hiatus of sorts, at the moment. There is a huge web presence for this band as there is with a lot of bands in these internet convenient days (remember when all underground bands had was zines, word of mouth and live performances to speak for them), there's a Last.FM, a Soundcloud, a Facebook, an interview at Harum Scarum Records and you can give the whole thing a listen (and download at "name your price") at Bandcamp. I hope Shannon doesn't mind but I wanted to share my favorite song here in the site, a tune called "Asleep On The Ferris Again"... [audio mp3="http://mustard-relics.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Asleep-On-The-Ferris-Again-Her-Stems-Spiral.mp3"][/audio] Once again, go to the Bandcamp below, to give the whole thing a listen and have a chance to put it on your iPod!... http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=490679998/size=medium/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/transparent=true/

Melt Banana - Fetch LP

It looks like one of my absolute favorite bands, Melt-Banana, are coming out with a new record October 1st.  Was a little concerned when I heard the concept, just Yako (Vox) and Agata (Guitars) on this one, no Rika (Bass) (all the reading I did on this thing came up with no answers as to what happened to her) and no one playing drums.  This is something akin to the previous album with just Yako and Agata as Melt-Banana Lite.  I'm one who has a hard time accepting change, especially when it comes to an incarnation I was totally content with and the band has struck out in new territory here.  Yako's voice is still very recognizable and Agata's sound is still there somewhat, with the addition of heavy synth type noodlings and drum machine mayhem.  Overall, I'd say that this is a little more catchy than most of their stuff and isn't quite so balls to the wall, but that doesn't mean they don't get loose though.  As with anything compose by these two, they are heavy on the originality.  You can stream the whole album at Spin Magazine, of all places.  As I said this thing becomes a physical entity on October 1st, a good starting place to get it would be at their label, A-Zap, but you may want to wait a bit for it to hit distributors a little closer to home.  They are supporting this with a US tour, check out the dates at Revolver USA. Below is the taste they gave the world prior to the Spin thing...

[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/109110803" params="" width="100%" height="166" iframe="true" /]

Tyranny Is Tyranny - Let It Come From Whom It May CD

Heard from Russell of United Sons Of Toil a while back (yeah still playing catch up on these reviews) turning me onto another project of his in the form of the post-rock monster, Tyranny Is Tyranny. Here's what he hd to say about the band, "Tyranny Is Tyranny is a Madison WI post-noiserock band focusing on dynamics, repetition, and the dismantling of capitalism -- former members of The United Sons Of Toil laying down long-form slabs of bleak dynamics and left-wing outrage. Slather yourself in despair. RIYL: Light Bearer, Isis, and Amphetamine Reptile Records. Tyranny Is Tyranny is the title of the fourth chapter of Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States." "Let It Come From Whom It May" will be released on Cincinnati's Phratry Records on 10/31/2013." Seems like I'm getting a lot of bands out of the Northern Midwest these days that know how to turn up the noise. One of my favorite things about this band is the vocals, that's just me (and really all this is about is me).   There's two vocals going on why higher pitched and the other lower.  They're not crooning, and not that cookie monsters gargling glass mess, but like this smooth blend of the two, gruff intelligible things that lend themselves to the intense lyrical content. Check out the lyrics in the Liner Notes. As for the music, they start this thing off, banging hard, like two cons beating the shit out of each other in a prison yard, towards the middle they get thoughtful, philosophical and then end it with two long angry anthems. My favorite tune falls in that last category... The American Dream Is A Lie Opiate the brutish life To numb the pain, you take a wife They Sell you hope---You break your back You make excuses---They don't look back The dream is dead, it never lived Stillborn from the womb of revolt Stillborn. It's stillborn Don't know how long these guys have been playing together, but it seems like for a long time, very tight and in sync. The whole thing rocks pretty hard, never a dull moment, from beginning to end it reminds me of an important speech. Forgot to mention that cover art, incredible emotion there, describes the band perfectly. If you want a copy and to help give this bad boy a proper vinyl release you can PRE-ORDER. You can also give it a listen and/or pick up a digital copy over at Bandcamp. They also have their own WEBSITE and of course you can get this and all kinds of other killer shit at Phratry Records. http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=554829024/size=medium/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/transparent=true/

Post Honeymoon - Second Skin LP/CD

Got this in my inbox a while back and even though they never responded to my email (I get that a lot, must be a part of being me thing), still thought this band was well worth sharing.  One thing that's nice about doing these reviews is getting exposed to music in areas I normally wouldn't explore and getting turned onto to talented folks all over the world. Post Honeymoon are a duo out of Chicago and for just being two people, keys and percussion essentially, they have a very sophisticated sound, that right from the getgo is very infectious.  Here's the PR, "On sophomore record, Second Skin, the married pair eschew guitars in favor of hip-hop and dub arrangements that swirl seamlessly with Rachel’s keyboard chops and Nick Cave-esque vocals and Nick’s monster hits of the kit. Think Hammond organ, Clavichord and Melotron over Timbaland-meets-James Murphy MPC grooves, steered by primal drumming." I could really leave it at that, that's a hell of a good description and paints a beautiful picture of what's going on here, but I can't stop there, I like the sound of my own voice too much.  Speaking of voices, Rachel's vocals sound kinda like a mix of Siouxsie and Fionna Apple (If you don't like her shame on you), of course with a twist...almost lounge-like, or cabaret, in a Billy Holiday kind of way.  Sometimes with bands, lyrically you feel like the words just arbitrary, and you're better off just listening to the sound of a persons voice, which in this case you could do with how good Rachel's voice is, but the words here are important and add a whole dimension's worth of depth.   Rachel's keys, or synth or whatever, are all over the place, she uses a wide range of sounds and melodies that sometimes are danceable, other times take you away on a trip or you're just left pondering and reflecting.  Nicks drumming (does he do the drum machine parts too or is it one of those earl 80's electronic drum kits), is absolutely perfect, it provides the ground from which the flower springs forth and blossoms.  His rhythms are all over the place too, stylistically he seems to be able to set whatever mood he pleases.  The overall music could best be describes as eerie. like a jazz funeral, but not depressing.  As I implied though, the songs do not all sound the same , there is some variety here that keeps things really interesting.  One of my favorites is this hip hoppy one that they both sing on... http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3668319012/size=small/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/t=7/transparent=true/ Their release says, "for fans of: Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Sharon Van Etten, the Kills, Metric, Nick Cave, Grimes, Local Natives, Austra, Bat for Lashes, Anika." Can you here that in this tune?  Not familiar with some of those acts, but of the ones I do know, I like PH a hell of a lot more. They are on an even par with Nick Cave and that's saying a lot when you consider a vet like Cave.  This is a band that probably with the right exposure, could be big in the charts type of scene, but they're different enough to stay out of the pop circles.  They have a decent amount of web presence with an aptly named website, Post Honeymoon, and also have a Facebook, Twitter, and a Tumblr. The album is chock full of great songs, there isn't a bad one on the whole thing, a rarity that. Give it a listen... http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=3668319012/size=medium/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/transparent=true/

[vimeo 72009767 w=500 h=281]

Post Honeymoon - Kid With a Gun (Official Video) from Post Honeymoon on Vimeo.

Cmn ineed yr hlp - It Came Without Warning...As Most Disatsers Do digital EP

Still playing catch up on these reviews, but as promised last time, only gonna spend time on the out-fucking-standing shit, and this hunk of plastic is no exception. Mark from Cmn ineed yr hlp hit me up to see what I thought of his band. My immediate response to him was, "This record is downright trouble.  Like a good book that you can't put down, I couldn't stop listening.  Usually I'm multi-tasking when I listen to music on the computer, but this demanded my full attention." A novel set to music, an un-lame opera, an extreme musical.  Here's what the band had to say, "Now in their sixth year, Cmn ineed yr hlp continues to be ambitious, pretentious, and self-aware enough to poke fun at themselves about these characteristics (as well as their beloved, yet much-maligned band name). Jose Rosales (guitar), Ian Gegenheimer (drums) and Mark Oster (bass) started composing their second record together more than three years ago, and with the help of Matt Engstrom (recording and mixing) and Gary Yek (mastering), have finally brought it to fruition."  First off check out the cover art, that's a whole fucking story in itself.  A friend of mine recently described the experience perfectly, "I used to love listening to an album and devouring the cover with my eyes."  The story itself is a sad one, like King Kong or Moby Dick, as humanity in it's typically vulgar way, tries to subdue nature...in this case it backfires (at least that was my impression).  There is this early radio broadcast thing going, eerie sound effects and news headlines included, like an H.G. Wells narrated story interspersed into this really tight barrage of music.  Other than the narration, the music is instrumental, like some jazz fusion beast.  The songs are not meant to be singled out, the album is one single composition, separated into acts, if you will.  There is no repetition, no verse or chorus, instead, a very well thought out and conceived super jam.  Mathy and progressive is what I suppose some would call it and if that means superior, tight as getting the 20th person into the phone booth, musicianship, combined with an Einstein-like intellectual unfolding of the universe approach to songwriting, then this is that.  Over at Gotta Groove Records you can read a bit more about them, along with a shit ton of (better than mine) reviews (sometimes I wonder why folks hit this city turned country boy up for his opinion on their tunes, they must already know they rock).  Cmn... have their own WEBSITE to peruse, and an ultra heavy web presence in the form of a Bandcamp, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Blip.fm, MySpace, Last.FM and a ReverbNation.  At this point, the record (so to speak) is only available digitally, but the band is trying to get the funds together to release this as a proper 12" EP.  Enough babbling, listen and be amazed... http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=617669444/size=small/bgcol=ffffff/linkcol=0687f5/transparent=true/

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWdqzj9_lH4]

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srxYuWs2UpE]

Lead Belly - Where Did You Sleep Last Night?

Back in the late 80's, early 90's when I was in college, Nirvana came on the scene, but I never gave them a chance. Everybody was into them, and at the time, that was reason enough for me not to be. I don't think I actually ever listened to them, which is a shitty way not to groove to a band. There were relatively few bands from the so called Grunge scene that I would listen to, The Melvins (arguably not Grunge), Babes In Toyland, Soundgarden and L7 being some prime examples of exceptions. Later (I can't remember if it was after Cobain offed himself or not) a buddy of mine made me a tape of their MTV Unplugged set, and I was kind of blown away (listening to it as I'm typing). It's an intensely heartfelt performance, although they are all light-hearted and joking, musically it's some heavy stuff.. The songs tend to be glum, and I've always been sort of a glum person myself, so they hit a sweet spot...really good listening when you've got girl problems. I have since gone on to appreciate the other Nirvana releases, but this Unplugged thing has a lot of things going for it. Pat Smear! Kurt, introduces him as being a part of the band for the first time. Poor Pat, second band he's been in, where the singer has killed himself. Cello! My favorite of the orchestral instruments (bassoon comes a close second). Who needs a bass player when you've got the haunting bottom end of a cello. The covers! The original Nirvana tunes are over the top, but it tells you a lot about a band, what songs they cover. Vaselines, Bowie, Meat Puppets (they even get the brothers to help play those tunes) and they saved the best for last, Lead Belly. That last tune is just incredible, "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" I think that Lead Belly would have appreciated the Nirvana version...but of course nothing can beat the power and the glory of the original...

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6yCEsDsGx4]

The Chewers - Chuckle Change and Also digital LP

Finally getting around to doing some of these reviews. Interestingly enough did two and contacted the bands/labels and have heard nothing back. So, either the reviews were not to their liking or they were unhappy with the delay. Really gonna have to be a bit more picky about what I review, and think that from now I'm not going to waste my time unless the band has something really special to offer up...such is the case here... Up next to satisfy your diabolically demented side, is The Chewers. Gotta tell you this is some pretty whacked out wacky stuff, highly original. My response to Travis of The Chewers, upon first listening to the music, was "Kind of a minimalistic hillbilly thing with a touch of the Butthole Surfers/Killdozer/Devo.  Hard to pigeonhole, but left me toe tappin with a smile on my face." Here's a little bio of sorts, "The Chewers are Travis Caffrey and Michael Sadler, two freaks from the woods of West Virginia (by way of Nashville), USA. We each play various instruments, in order to create layered arrangements of deadpan, primitive rock. The songs feature characters immersed in psychological hells, grappling with deep disconnect from the society around them. These subjects are generally presented with a deadpan and crooked sense of humor." Lots and lots of songs on this thing. The reviews I read mention a Beefheart connection, which works awfully well (wish I had thought of that) and I might even add Zappa, minus the jazz fusiony noodling. It's fairly simple in structure, but it takes a certain kind of mindset for musicians to create these kinds of compositions.  These guys must be a trip in real life, would enjoy sitting down with them over a cup of coffee and feeding off their trip.  An acid trip, for sure.  Not the pretentious psychedelic Pink Floyd-ish intentional rigamarole, this is out there like the moon is out there, not because it wanted to be, it just is. Imagine a blues band made up of guys from an asylum, not bad crazy, good crazy.  Lyrically they are equally out there, but anything else would not suit the music. Here's a little bit from the tune below... He keeps all he knows In black plastic bags On the floor is a carpet Of ego soaked rags And just out of sight The world spins and it brags Of life and of light And of tracking with tags While he plants metal spikes And he waits... This kind of raw talent and creativity makes me intensely jealous, since I was born with the rhythm of Steve Martin in The Jerk. If you want to read some reviews, all good, that are probably more enlightening try Hotel Amnesia, Drug Punk, or Music From The Other Side of the Room (I did not read these reviews until after I did my own meager one, so the similarities are just coincidental, or perhaps factual). Anyway, to get in touch with the Chewers, buy their stuff or whatnot, they have an understandably trippy website over at Art Pushers and of course there is Soundcloud. This here sample was one of my faves and typifies their sound... Tornado of Stasis

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ypaf4tnT9jU]

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nqaSviwOOo]

Freddie T & the People - Gypsy City LP

This time around we've got a little something from the Sick Room Records pallet, in the form of a pretty interestingly soulful group of guys, Feddie T. and the People. Something a little different from my usual fare, which leans towards the angry and uptight, this is music to hang out and have a good time to.  Their Bandcamp tags them as "r&b/soul rock & roll rhythm & blues Indiana"...works for me.  Based on my own limited backround, the heavy use of horns makes me think of ska, but this has more of a 70's vibe ala Earth Wind & Fire without even a hint of disco though...this is more rocking.  The horns are a big selling point for me, there's a latin vibe to them.  The singer kinda reminds me of Brad Nowell of Sublime, their voices don't sound alike, just stylistically, but once again without the heavy use of reggae/ska themes.   The band itself has no weakness unless you consider a soft spot for making you groove.  Here's what the band has to say about themselvesThe music of Freddie T. and The People is, “gritty, bulldog soul†(Rivierfront Times), an upbeat take on rock and classic rhythm and blues. Fred writes songs about working hard at work and at home, as a husband and father. The songs avoid the cliché of the world-weary musician, and rather provide a soundtrack for long summer nights of back yard grilling with friends and loved ones. These are desperate songs with a shout of promise for the future."  I love that last line there.  Overall a pretty rockin record... http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/album=2722696753/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=4285BB/

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dUAc86xQ8s]

Dock Ellis & The LSD No-No by James Blagden

It's no secret around here that I grew up in LA, born at USC Medical Center.  Being raised by just my Mom, who worked like a dog, I spent a fair amount of time at the babysitter, until I was 10, when I could stay at home alone.  My babysitter, Romelia, was this very Catholic Cuban lady with a heart of gold.  Her husband, Reynaldo, also Cuban, but not so religious, was a die hard baseball fan.  When I was in little league he would take me out to practice with some of the older guys he was coaching on the side.  I was a pretty promising pitcher as a kid, I could throw pretty hard for my age and already had a wicked screwball.  When we'd do batting practice, I can remember being so mad at him for throwing the ball at me on purpose, he would say "pone attencion".  On top of that he took to me to several baseball games over the years at Dodger Stadium (and a few time over at Angel Stadium over in Anaheim).  We would buy the cheap seats, then we would just find empty seats where ever he wanted to sit, usually on the third base side, first row, just past the dugout.  Sometimes people would come to claim their seats, he would ask to see their ticket and then tell them they were a several rows back.  They'd usually go get the usher so we'd move a few rows or a section over to some other empty seats.  A lot of times we'd go with this guy Cheecho, a guy who trained with Reynaldo.  He was really tall with long arms and during batting practice he could reach over the side and snag foul balls off the field.  Where we sat there were a lot of foul fly balls and on several occasions Reynaldo would snag them bare handed.  I always brought my glove, close, but never caught one.  Reynaldo was kind of a well known guy and it seemed like he knew all the Cubans, Dominicans and Venezuelans in the league, and there were tons (as there are today).  He'd holler at them in his in his heavy Cuban drawl, "beng par aka (come here)".  I met dozens of player that way and got all kinds of autographs, not knowing what they were talking about, even though I was fluent in Spanish, because I was in awe every single time ( I would catch the cuss words though, which always made me smile).  We should have been Dodger fans being from LA, but he was always a Reds fan, not sure if it was because there were several Cubans on the team.  In the 70's baseball players and athletes in general were a rough sort, they were a lot tougher than the guys today.  Read any one of their biographies and you'll get what I mean (Kenny Stabler's is one off the top of my head).  Anyway, so long story short, on Facebook the other day, Don Bolles of the Germs, and later Steaming Coils, Celebrity Skin, Vox Pop, Nervous Gender and 45 Grave, posted an animated short about one of those, rough around the edges, 70's baseball players, Dock Ellis. A heavy drug user, like a lot of them were back then (not like today's steroids), mostly amphetamines, he had claimed that he had pitched his no-hitter while on LSD. I had never heard this story, but it appealed to me on so many levels, and the animated short is brilliantly hilarious. Nothing underground here, this thing is trending all over the place and has over 3 million views on Youtube, but it just spoke to me in such a way that I felt like it just had to be on the Mustard Relics page. So trip out on the vid below...EDIT: the embedded video wasn't working for me, tried several times to fix it, so just in case, view it HERE...

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vUhSYLRw14&w=480&h=360]

The Collection - Charlie Clouser composer

With Labor Day around the corner (tomorrow), I find my self reflecting on the 30 years I've been selling my time for a paycheck. It doesn't seem that long, but I still haven't made my first million. In order to have done that, I'd have had to have made $33,333 a year for those 30 years, but even working now at my best paying job, I don't gross that much a year. According to the common train of thought I must not have been working hard enough, because hard work = wealth, right? Hahahaha. Got my first job with an actual pay check (before that all I ever did was mow my Grandpa's lawn when we came to visit), at 14, for sub minimum wage, cleaning cages at a bird store. Nothing like going into an aviary and getting pooped on while I cleaned up the poop. Stepped it up in high school and worked at Taco Bell for $3.35 an hour. Quit that job after the manager and this guy I knew, were executed during a robbery at another Taco Bell that I had worked at when I was training. Just not enough money to risk my life. My Aunt then got me a job at a law firm (one that represented insurance companies, trying to negotiate down settlements) as a file clerk. My brush with the white collar world and coked out lawyers. In college my first job was as a housekeeper cleaning dorm rooms during the summer. Damn college students, trashed the hell out of their rooms. Worked two jobs there for a while as I made/delivered pizzas at Blue Max Pizza for a year. The best tips were when you would get bud. Got probably the best job you can get as a college student (a state job), as they work around your class schedule, doing grounds keeping around the dorms (really liked my old Vietnam Vet boss). Graduated from college and worked at my favorite place to drink Casa de que Pasa, doing the register and prep (I made damn good guacamole). Worked then for Lindquist Landscape doing construction, mostly digging ditches, shoveling rock and hauling concrete in wheel barrows, we'd go fishing on rainy days. Moved to San Diego and relied on my skills (fuck my college education right) and got a job working for Banister Landscape, my first job being charge, maintenance foreman. A brush with trickle down economics as we maintained mansions...rich people hire poor people to take care of their shit.  Off to the Hanalei Hotel, still in charge, as the lead grounds keeper. The boss took us out every Friday to get drunk. Not enough money there, so off to the best you can do as a grounds keeper, a city job (in Lemon Grove) on the grounds crew. Learned a lot there, but drinking killed that job for me, so I started my own company, Hrabe & Son Landscaping. Got my truck stolen with all my tools in it, ending my venture as a self made man. Mark Banister was kind enough to hire me again, despite my heavy drinking, but eventually his benevolence was tested. Nothing left to do but to move away to Kansas, to try to escape my drinking. Ever so slightly less of a drunk (but still a drunk never the less) hit a new low as a powerwasher at a factory farm, Husky Hogs, all the pig shit and maggots a guy could handle. Off to my first job using my degree, substitute teaching at local schools (remember how you treated your subs in school). After a year, decide that I wasn't getting enough days there so got a job working with developmentally disabled adults, as a para professional under a teacher. Got Sober. Move up to Employment Specialist (job coach), getting the same population jobs. Moved up again in the company (a non profit subsidized by the State of Kansas) to where I am today, a Individual Service Coordinator (social worker) for the same population. I'm not the hardest worker in the world (my hero days are over), but I do my part. Happy Labor Day folks! The wife and I loved the first one but they really outdid themselves with The Collection. Everything I know and love in a horror film, seriously sinister villain and a pissed off hero, gore galore and edge of your seat fear. We went ahead and bought it, something we don't do too often because of our pathetic financial situation (not crying though as in this day and age there are folks who have it much worse, after all I do have a computer with internet service), but we found it used even though it was a newer release. During the course of watching and enjoying the flick, I was digging the soundtrack but I was really trippin on the score. Got a wild hair the other day and decide to look into the movie and learn something about the music.  Apparently there was no official release of a sound track, I did find the songs listed in the credits, so the brain got working again (it's hard).  Sure enough all the songs from the movie are on Youtube, but rather than post 7 videos, I used the JDownloader to extract the tunes (albeit at a crappy bit rate, so if you dig any of the tunes, hunt down the original releases by the bands and pleasure yourself at a high bit rate). Bound to get some objection to posting these tunes, but here's the soundtrack of sorts... Robosoul - Monsterbot Bryan Lee Brown & Paul Fig - Marauder Erode KAUF - When You're Out Porcelain Raft - Talk To Me Bryan Lee Brown & Paul Fig -The Collection End Title The Pack a.d. - Haunt You Patient 113 - Awake to You I like all those tunes, but really what I was after was the score for the movie. Turns out it was composed by a guy named Charlie Clouser, who I guess had been in Nine Inch Nails for a while (I've never knowingly listened to a NIN song, for no other reason than fate has not led me there, but I've heard lots of negative stuff...Edit: turns out I have heard/posted them, Nine Inch Nails - Cars (with Gary Numan, London 7.15.09), but that was after Mr. Clouser was in the band). So a kid (judging from his avatar/photo) who goes by the call name iamskywalkerr on Soundcloud has done the world a service and finished off my soundtrack list with a Charlie Clouser track, the "Main Titles"...

[soundcloud url="http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/84967329" params="" width="100%" height="166" iframe="true" /]

And then Mr. skywalker took it to the next level and has the score for download at Mediafire. This is the first score in my collection, digital or otherwise, and the first one I have sat down and listened to from beginning to end without watching the movie...VERY digable. Do yourself a favor and go watch the flick.