No Dubs - Brigad 45 B / De Anhöriga split 7"

Big time fan of horror movies, I guess you might have caught me saying that a time or two.  All kinds really, even the B movies, except the ones that suck of course. Not sure which movie this is from, I'm sure I've seen it because I've seen 'em all, but the special effects are incredible.  Even going back to a movie like Nosferatu, special effects have played a big part in these types of movies.  Whatever makes them scarier or bloodier the better.  Found out about a podcast that my buddy Josh was/is involved with, a discussion of horror movies as a genre, go check that out at The Brood.  The latest two that I've seen are "Don't Be Afraid of the Dark" and "Paranormal Activity 3", not the gory kind of horror, more of the edge of your seat kind, but both worthy of a rental.

I'm almost always waiting on record in the mail, something I've ordered or gotten from ebay, but those unexpected, out of the blue ones are the best. My buddy (that I've never actually met) Bjorn outta Sweden, of De Anhoriga, Unter den Linden and most recently Pilleemandjoonks fame, came through and sent me a mixed CD and an extremely rare 7". We hadn't been in touch for some time after swapping mixed CDs (mine of Humboldt stuff, of course he dug One Man Running and his was of UdL and Pdj). The mixed CD (reminiscent of the tape trading days) has the latest Pdj demo, which rocks...here's the best of that in my opinion... Pilleemandjoonks - Konsumenten Pilleemandjoonks - Ett Helt Nytt Ar on top of that, Bjorn made it a true mix and added a bunch of 90s-00s Swedish stuff, the best of which, hands down is this one... The Ark - I'll Have My Way With You Turns out, one of his daughters is a chip off the old block and has a music thing of her own that takes the form of Wild Fields. I wish there was more pop like this, beautiful... Wild Fields - Wild Fields

This here record tells me that 1980 Sweden had it going on in a big way.  This has been posted before at the almighty Killed By Death Records, with much better rips I'm sure, but I just had to share it here at MR.  So for my birthday I got a miniature donkey and this closet classic (Bjorn literally found it in his closet).  Both bands are utterly perfect in their punk-rock-ness, but they do not sound at all alike.  If you consider yourself an old school punk and you haven't heard this, you are a fool if you don't at least listen to this thing...

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSdfSatL1t8]

David Bowie & Sonic Youth

I've been after Sonic Youth vinyl for a while, but judging from the prices people do them at on ebay, apparently I'm not the only one. Looked through my records and I don't have any of their stuff on vinyl except some comp appearances. I do have some stuff I taped from other people way back when, but that isn't as satisfying as having the vinyl in my filthy little hands (and I do mean little).  Regardless, been listening to them for the last couple of days, mostly the late 80s early 90s stuff, Goo era I guess. You know, their hit... Kool Thing but this is one of the best tunes on the album (actually the demo from the Deluxe Version)... My Friend Goo (demo) Kim Deal's voice and Thurston Moores' guitaring, you get the point. Anyway was looking at vids on youtube and ran across this rather kool event and thought I'd share, since I haven't quite finished the post I've been working on... DAVID BOWIE & SONIC YOUTH - I'm Afraid Of Americans

Mao Tzu - Doodles digital download

A lot of my fellow bloggers don't like getting hit up for reviews, not sure why, it satisfies that lazy Roman emperor side in me to have the music coming my way instead of having to search far and wide, slave away and toil, beg and steal, for it. This latest one is from Jamarcus Drake, a jack of all trades, who sits in all of the chairs for this thing, his thing Mao Tzu. Obviously I admire musicians in general, so it goes without saying that a guy who does everything is worthy of some praise. Dude has his shit together, at least musically.  Ja(Marc)us is a young guy judging from the pics, but the sound doesn't come off as amateurish or stupid. He reminds me of one of my close friends growing up, Alexander Wallace IV, who could play just about any instrument and would fuck around with a 4 track, coming up with all kinds of shit (that's where the similarity ends, as rumor has it that my old buddy Alex killed himself years ago...wish I hadn't lost touch with him). The music here is simple yet intricate at times, if that makes sense, and varies quite a bit, but it's cohesive enough to tell that it came from one band (guy). The sound ranges from what I call heroin music (maybe a little on the fast side), like Sparklehorse (who have been featured around here...BTW the brainchild of a guy who killed himself), checkout "Case Closed", to an almost industrial thing you get in "Curb Your Enthusiasm".  There's a few tunes that I haven't included that don't do much for me, not to say they're bad, they just didn't do much for me.  I like the combination of electronics, live instruments (especially the drums, ala the Beastie Boys) and samples.  I'd be interested in knowing all the equipment and instruments used.  Not sure if Marc was just fucking around bored or if he put a ton of time into it, but the outcome is fucking cool and doesn't sound hoaky.  As I said these are the some of the tunes that spoke to me, but you can get all 11, plus some other output at the link in their name, up above.  Dig it or don't... MaoTzu - Case Closed MaoTzu - Dragon Ball Bitch MaoTzu - Full Metal Torrent (FWLTF) MaoTzu - Curb Your Enthusiasm (Cadence)