Jerry Garcia & David Grisman - The Warfield, San Francisco, CA 12/8/91

Jerry Garcia and David Grisman had been performing together since the early 70's (Old and In The Way) but they played their first show as a duet in 1990. They would play 19 shows together and this may be the best show I've heard. They played three shows at the Warfield in San Francisco in 1991 (12/7-12/9). Because Jerry's health was on a steady decline throughout the late 80's and early 90's (he had gone into a diabetic coma in 1986 for 5 days. He produced one of my favorite quotes when he woke up: "Well, I had some very weird experiences. My main experience was one of furious activity and tremendous struggle in a sort of futuristic, space-ship vehicle with insectoid presences. After I came out of my coma, I had this image of myself as these little hunks of protoplasm that were stuck together kind of like stamps with perforations between them that you could snap off") and because of his death in 1995, you could consider these shows with Grisman to be his last great shows outside of the Dead. Even though Jerry was in a rough patch in his life, when you see videos and hear shows of him with Grisman, you can see that he is extremely happy and it definitely shows in this recording. Their cover of Miles Davis' "So What" is brilliant. Enjoy.

Jerry Garcia & David Grisman - The Warfield, San Francisco, CA 12/8/91 (Disc 1)
Jerry Garcia & David Grisman - The Warfield, San Francisco, CA 12/8/91 (Disc 2)

Culture - Two Sevens Clash

Culture released their debut album in 1977 when "the two sevens clashed". Marcus Garvey, the leader of the "back to Africa" movement had predicted that there would be chaos on July 7, 1977 when the "sevens" met. When the title track was released, people in Jamaica were so convinced of its message that on 7/7/77 businesses and schools closed, people shuttered themselves in, and the military was on edge. This should give you all a little lesson on how important this record was and is to the island of Jamaica. The singer and brains behind Culture, Joseph Hill, was looking to write a record that would be a testament to his devout Rastafarian beliefs. Many reggae bands get the short end of the stick because people tend to have a hard time looking beyond Bob Marley. Although Marley and the Wailers are great, people will be smart to look beyond; Culture is a great place to start. The 30th Anniversary Edition was just released in 2007. I'll post the entire original record. If you want some bonus tracks, you'll have to buy the Anniversary Edition. Here's a quote from the liner notes:
"One day Joseph Hill had a vision, while riding a bus, of 1977 as a year of judgment -- when two sevens clash -- when past injustices would be avenged. Lyrics and melodies came into his head as he rode and thus was born the song "Two Sevens Clash" which became a massive hit in reggae circles both in Jamaica and abroad. The prophecies noted by the lyrics so profoundly captured the imagination of the people that on July 7, 1977 - the day when sevens fully clashed (seventh day, seventh month, seventy-seventh year) a hush descended on Kingston; many people did not go outdoors, shops closed, an air of foreboding and expectation filled the city."

Culture - Two Sevens Clash

Knight School-The Poor and Needy Need To Party

Sorry for the lack of action over here at Pacific Radio Fire,  we were bumming out pretty hard about swine flu and sealed ourselves in my grandparents fallout shelter for the past week.  Although we were deprived of sunshine in the shelter thank god my Grandparents were wise enough back in the sixties to think about entertainment down there and installed a turntable and stereo.  So you can imagine how much it sucked being down there for a week but we totally got to listen to a ton of records!  One of my favorite records during the week was  "The Poor and Needy Need To Party" by Knight School.  Out of all the bands doing the lo-fi jingle jangle sound this is probably my favorite.  Although there are a bunch of bands with this sound right now I have noticed that this genre lacks good full lengths.  Even though "The Poor and Needy Need To Party" is only twenty-four minutes long it sounds and feels like a proper full length record.  I doubt it is in Knight School's plan at this point but if they needed them the record would be chock full of singles.  They also have pretty amazing song titles such as "Gardeninginging" and "Pregnant Again".  If you like short, super catchy songs that don't take themselves too seriously and stay stuck in your head for weeks than I would recommend ordering a copy from this website "Lost Music".  If this is Knight School's debut I am excited to see where they go from here.  On a side note I just realized this band reminds me of Beat Happening for three reasons: Sloppily drawn kitties on the front of the record, two dudes and one girl and sometimes the drums sound like childrens blocks being smacked together.  I am going to post the record because in all honesty I love the whole thing.  If anyone want's me to get rid of the link ask.  JK on the swine flu. 

Knight School-The Poor and Needy Need To Party    

Nerve City-Catholic School

As far as I know Nerve City is the alias of one dude named Jason Boyer from Richmond Virgina.  Nerve City plays lo-fi garage rock with a definite influence from blues and sixties surf music.  I know this probably sounds like fifty other records you have read about this week but I think Nerve City brings enough to this genre to stand out.  One thing I specifically dig about "Catholic School" is although it is only one guy there seems to be a lot of different instruments being played in a lot of different ways.  It seems like a lot of bands misuse the title "lo-fi" or "garage" as an excuse to sound shitty or boring.  The use of less polished recording equipment and technique should be to communicate some of the urgency that the band has live not as a crutch to hide badly written songs.  With that said, Nerve City has plenty of well written songs and no matter what type of recording they are using at the moment they shine through.  On "Catholic School" Boyer fills each song with organ, slide guitar, handclaps and just enough reverb to tie it all together.  Another reason Nerve City stands out is that they haven't released any type of long playing record yet their songs are varied from jangly folk(Dogs) to creepy garage rock(Junkyard).  I will post the now out of print "Catholic School Demo" in its entirety because it is out of print and its the record that got me into them.  Nerve City has plans to release a bunch of stuff in 09 like an LP on Sweet Rot and a few EPs on different labels so keep your eyes open.  

Nerve City Myspace

Nerve City-Catholic School

Jarvis Cocker-Further Complications

I am not going to post anything from this record because its not out and obviously someone is not happy about it being leaked.  Its awesome though.  I really liked the first one but this sounds much better.  Everyone should grab a copy of this when it hits stores on May 19th on Rough Trade.  Thanks again Steve Albini!

The Middle Class-Out of Vogue

"Out of Vogue" by the Middle Class is titled by some as one of the first hardcore punk records ever released.  I feel that "first ever" debates when concerning music are usually completely pointless.  From what I have observed in my lifetime terms like "hardcore", "lo-fi" and "post-punk" are usually made by people who don't really get it in the first place, such as journalists and record executives.  People are usually more comfortable with things if they can place them into a definite category, especially when those people are trying to turn a profit.  Okay, so whatever, this might be the first "hardcore" record ever, this fact has nothing to do with why its good to listen to.  The music on "Out of Vogue" is definitely fast for the time, considering it was released in January 1979 (the same month as Black Flag's "Nervous Breakdown" EP).  Comparisons to early hardcore bands like Minor Threat and Bad Brains are inevitable but I think that the Middle Class were actually doing something a little different.  Most hardcore bands at this time came from big cities like Los Angeles, New York and Washington DC but the Middle Class were from a small suburban town called Santa Ana in Orange County.  A few years later this area exploded with punk bands like the Adolescents, TSOL and Agent Orange.  Obviously the Middle Class' influence was felt by somebody because all of those bands share more than just geography.  When listening to the Adolescents, Agent Orange or the Middle Class I have always noticed the slight influence of sixties and seventies surf and pop groups.  Obviously Agent Orange covered the Dick Dale song Miserlou and in the liner notes of the Adolescent demos Tony Cadena talks about how he has always loved Cheap Trick.  Growing up in a place that is pretty similar to Santa Ana, I can say that its hard to escape certain musical trends and often times there is just not much else to be into due to location.  If this sounds good Frontier just released a CD with all of their early material including their first two singles and some demos.  I will post the whole "Out of Vogue" 7".  

The Middle Class-Out of Vogue

The Wild Poppies-Heroine

I really don't know much about this band so I guess I will start off with what I do know. The Wild Poppies were from New Zealand and released music sometime in the eighties. Although they were not on Flying Nun you can definitely hear that they shared a lot of influences with their artists. Other than that pretty much nothing is known about this band which is kind of cool in a mysterious way. Judging from the cover artwork and album title I wouldn't be surprised if substance abuse had something to do with them disappearing off the face of the earth. There has to be some reason they are completely unheard of because this record is solid front to back. Most of the songs on "Heroine" have that signature New Zealand jangle on them and really strong pop song writing. For me its one of those records where every time you listen to it you walk away with a new favorite song. As far as I know none of the Wild Poppies catalogue ever made it to CD format and I think you would probably have a hard time finding a physical copy of any of their records on vinyl so I am going to post all of "Heroine". Be warned, can cause physical dependence.

The Wild Poppies-Heroine LP

Tones on Tail-Everything!

I just recently moved a good portion of my record collection from Los Angeles to San Francisco.  Anyone who has ever had to move their collection or even part of it knows what a herculean task it can appear to be.  The good part is that forgotten favorites will resurfaces due to the fact that you literally haven't seen them in years.  Unfortunately my copy of Tones on Tail's aptly titled career retrospective "Everything!" fell victim to a few year long disappearance when I moved out of Los Angeles.  Luckily while I was home visiting my parents I helped them do some spring cleaning and this psychedelic goth gem was returned once again to my ears.  Tones on Tail initially started as the side project of Bauhaus towards the tail end of their first run that included Daniel Ash, Kevin Haskins and their roadie/friend Glenn Campling.  Although Tones on Tail only lasted about two years I always perceived it as an opportunity for Daniel Ash and Kevin Haskins to experiment and do things they felt restricted to in Bauhaus, as well as lay the foundation for Love and Rockets.  Tones on Tail never released a proper studio album but I think that their utilization of the single format actually helped them reach farther in a different direction.  It is apparent from listening to Bauhaus and Love and Rockets in that order that Ash and Haskins were aiming for something very different with the latter.  I think having the anonymity of a side project group who released only singles let them have the freedom to sculpt their desired sound without having the pressure to deliver cohesive albums.  Since the career of Tones On Tail was so short lived but prolific I can't help but get the feeling that they had specific goals, did what they wanted, achieved their goals and moved on.  The music on "Everything!" leans more on the experimental side in comparison to most of Bauhaus or Love and Rockets but if you like either of them you will undoubtedly like this too.  I am going to post a few songs for this one.

Tones On Tail-Rain, Lions, Twist 3 song zip file

Jerry Garcia & John Kahn - Oregon State Penitentiary, Salem, Oregon - May 5, 1982

It's hard to find a place to start with Jerry Garcia's music. You could spend a lifetime listening to Dead shows, analyzing jams and recordings and still not tap the surface. Personally, I find that Jerry seems to shine the most in his solo shows. He began playing with John Kahn in May of 1970 with the Jerry Garcia & Howard Wales project. After that, John Kahn was in every side project Jerry did without the Dead (Jerry Garcia Band, Legion of Mary, Old and In The Way, etc.) These collaborations eventually led to Jerry and John Kahn playing as an acoustic duet in the early 80's. This show at the Oregon State Penitentiary is without question one of my favorite of Jerry's side project shows. It is by far the best recording I've heard of a Jerry Garcia & John Kahn show and Ken Kesey was supposedly in attendance. They play a few Dead songs (Friend of the Devil, Ripple, Dire Wolf), songs the Dead played all the time (Deep Elem Blues, Jack A Roe) and a few of Jerry's own songs and favorites (Oh Babe It Ain't No Lie, Bob Dylan's It Takes A Lot to Laugh, Run For The Roses, Rubin and Cherise). I get the chills everytime I listen to this version of Run For The Roses and I find myself coming back to this show again and again. Supposedly, the Dead crew disliked John Kahn for his encouragement of Jerry's drug habit, especially in the 90's. John Kahn would die of heart failure (May, 1996) a little over a year after Jerry died of a heart attack (August 1995), both deaths most likely due to drugs. I couldn't find a picture from the show so I posted the best one I could find of the two together. Enjoy the show!

Here's a note from a guy who was there: "One thing I remember was a deranged guy hopped onstage during the Reverend Chumliegh's (sp?) act and kind of made for a slightly tense atmosphere. And I think Jerry was without John Kahn for the first two songs and pretty nervous. Kesey had us all hyperventilating, bless him."- Paul

Jerry Garcia & John Kahn - Oregon State Penitentiary, Salem, Oregon - May 5, 1982

Pacific Radio Fire by Richard Brautigan

This is the short story by Richard Brautigan that I borrowed the name for this blog from.  You can find it in his collection of stories called "Revenge of the Lawn".  I doubt I will ever post anything like this ever again but it seemed relevant enough to share. 

Pacific Radio Fire by Richard Brautigan

The largest ocean in the world starts or ends at Monterey, California. It depends on what language you are speaking. My friend’s wife had just left him. She walked right out the door and didn’t even say good-bye. We went and got two fifths of port and headed for the Pacific.

It’s an old song that’s been played on all the jukeboxes in America. The song has been around so long that it’s been recorded on the very dust of America and it has settled on everything and changed chairs and cars and toys and lamps and windows into billions of phonographs to play that song back into the ear of our broken heart.

We sat down on a small corner-like beach surrounded by big granite rocks and the hugeness of the Pacific Ocean with all its vocabularies.

We were listening to rock and roll on his transistor radio and somberly drinking port. We were both in despair. I didn’t know what he was going to do with the rest of his life either.

I took another sip of port. The Beach Boys were singing a song about California girls on the radio. They liked them.

His eyes were wet wounded rugs.

Like some kind of strange vacuum cleaner I tried to console him. I recited the same old litanies that you say to people when you try to help their broken hearts, but words can’t help at all.

It’s just the sound of another human voice that makes the only difference. There’s nothing you’re ever going to say that’s going to make anybody happy when they’re feeling shitty about losing somebody that they love.

Finally he set fire to the radio. He piled some paper around it. He struck a match to the paper. We sat there watching it.

I had never seen anybody set fire to a radio before.

As the radio gently burned away, the flames began to affect the songs that we were listening to. A record that was #1 on the Top-40 suddenly dropped to #13 inside of itself. A song that was #9 became #27 in the middle of a chorus about loving somebody. They tumbled in popularity like broken birds. Then it was too late for all of them.

The Honeycombs-Here are the Honeycombs

I've been pretty obsessed with this record lately. At first look this appears to be your standard British invasion sixties pop but if you take the time to listen it becomes obvious it has a lot more to offer.  A cool fact about The Honeycombs is they were one of the first groups of the time to have a female drummer, who's name was Honey Lantree(pictued above in the center). Also, their first single and ultimately most popular song "Have I the Right?" was produced by legendary English record producer Joe Meek. I have got to admit up until pretty recently I had no clue who Joe Meek was. With a little bit of researching I found out that Meek had a really interesting story that unfortunately ended with tragedy.  Here is a condensed version:  Meek produced a string of successful singles on the British charts, when his commercial success ended he sank into depression and ended up murdering his landlady before committing suicide(Eight years to the day after his hero Buddy Holly died).  The main thing that Meek is remembered for is his imaginative and innovative production style. When listening to the Honeycombs its hard not to notice how different it sounds from other recordings of the time. Meek was a pioneer in the field of production and developed many studio techniques such as direct input of bass, echo, reverb, sampling and over-dubbing that are now standard practice. Even though the Honeycombs have a pretty standard pop sound the way they are recorded makes their songs sound full and lush. I think another reason I liked the story of Meek was his commitment to finding the perfect sound rather than what was marketable at the moment. Unfortunately he was working in the field of recording at a time when unprofitable music was seen as not having much value which probably had something to do with his feelings of isolation and severe depression. I am going to post "Have I the Right?" not only because its well known but also because it is a good example of the sound that Meek produced when he was at his best recording bands. The second track I am going to post is called "It Ain't Necessarily So" because its a really cool song, boo ya.

The Honeycombs-Have I the Right?

The Honeycombs-It Ain't Necessarily So

Chain and the Gang-Down with Liberty...Up With Chains

Does anyone else remember when Ian Svenonius was interviewing Henry Rollins on his show Soft Focus?  At one point they brought up the idea of freedom actually being a constraining concept by referencing the awesome Saccharine Trust song "We Don't Need Freedom".  Anyone who has followed Svenonius in any of his musical projects is probably familiar with his satirical wit that he seems to incorporate in to everything he touches at least in some part.  Keeping that in mind I think his new project "Chain and the Gang" is a good extension of him and some other interesting musicians taking that idea and running with it.

People seem to either really dig Svenonius and his multiple artistic endeavors since the Nation of Ulysses or they don't seem to have the patience for them.  Not to say that listening to the Make Up is some type of transcendental experience that only a fortunate minority can enjoy but more that he is interpreted by some as being redundant.  I guess I feel like in this situation there is no reason to fix it if its not broken,  I haven't reached that point in my listening to his records where I feel like they are monotonous.  With that said, I have been playing the shit out of "Down with Liberty, Up with Chains" by Svenonius and his new group of familiar faces.  I read that he originally intended to record a spoken word record with Calvin Johnson in his famous basement and this is what resulted.  I can definitely say that I am glad it did, maybe that spoken word album would have been the thing to make me loose patience.

A look at the cover of this record is a great explanation of the ideas and overall aesthetic that you will get with Chain and the Gang.  I think the actual music on the album has more of a blues influence than most of his more recent releases but there is still plenty of catchy garage rock as well.  It seems like on this record he really perfected the call and response rhythm with his vocals which he is already kind of known for.  Bottom line is if you like what Ian Svenonius has been doing for the last two decades than this will probably be a welcome addition to your collection, if not you probably gave up a long time ago.

Chain and the Gang-Trash Talk

Chain and the Gang-Deathbed Confession

The Halo Benders

Doug Martsch and Calvin Johnson.  This sentence should be enough to get you excited about whatever it is I am about to write about.  For the purpose of focusing on their collaboration records together I won't write in depth on either of their former bands (Built to Spill and Beat Happening) in this post.  Even though I love listening to the records that both of these bands released I always find myself running back to the Halo Benders records faster.  I think the reason for that is the way the two front men decided to approach the band.  I feel like a lot of the time when there are bands where two formerly known and definitely talented people are involved there is too much pressure to create some type of groundbreaking record or something that outdoes their past.  The reason The Halo Benders appealed to me is because I never perceived them to have any pressure about making something "more" than their former projects.  Basically what you have here is Calvin Johnson and Doug Martsch making songs on top of each other more other than collaborating.  My favorite songs have always been the ones where they sing together throughout, usually not quite at the same moment but enough apart that you can make out each of their lyrics.  Another interesting thing about their process as a band is they write lyrics separately which is obvious once you hear them.  I think the point of this is that neither one of these extremely talented dudes tries to out-do the other.  Even when they are literally playing different songs on top of each other it sounds natural and comfortable.  Not to mention its funny, Johnson has always expressed his good sense of humor through his art and now that I think about it Martsch has a lot of really witty lines as well.  I always loved the title of the first Halo Benders album "God Don't Make No Junk" which I believe was stolen from an old blues song of the same title in true Johnson fashion.  I am going to post a Halo Benders song called "Virginia Reel Around the Fountain" from their record "The Rebels Not In".  I made a mistake earlier and said that it was a cover of the Smiths song "Reel Around the Fountain" but other than the titles the songs have nothing in common.  

The Halo Benders-Virginia Reel Around the Fountain

Bored Games-Who Killed Colonel Mustard

There are a million different reasons to love this record.  First of all it was released on New Zealand's legendary Flying Nun label label in 1982 kicking off the career of singer Shane Carter and the golden age of the label.  Carter later went on to form the Doubly Happys and then the Straightjacket Fits, both releasing records on Flying Nun.  Carter was only seventeen years old when Bored Games were active, even though this EP was released a year after the band broke up.  You can find a really great video out there for the song "Happy Endings" that shows his age if you look hard enough.  Even though this record is probably the least known item in Carter's career its definitely my favorite.  If you are familiar with the early eighties Flying Nun stable than you probably know what this sounds like and already dig it.  If you like early eighties punk with a spoonful of pop then you will love this.  I guess if I had to compare it to something I would say the Spiral Scratch EP from the Buzzcocks. Even though I do feel guilty comparing Flying Nun bands to their better known contemporaries because usually they were better.  I will post this whole record because its only four songs and I think they work best together since it is basically this bands complete discography. 

Bored Games-Who Killed Colonel Mustard?

Grouper

I realized today that there is not a single female mentioned in any of the posts on this blog up to this point.  I have been meaning to write about Grouper for a while anyways and this seems like a perfect time to do so.  Liz Harris aka Grouper is the Portland based one woman drone machine responsible for last years amazing "Dragging a Dead Dear up a Hill"  LP.  Although her music definitely does drone repeated listens reveal layer upon layer of melody.  On her more recent releases the vocals and guitar can be heard a lot more clearly which reminds me of something like "Souvlaki" era Slowdive on codeine-promethazine. I have yet to hear a bad record from her let alone a bad song so I would say its safe to pick up whatever you can find from her.  I know a lot of her earlier releases were vinyl only and are pretty much completely out of print by this point.  One song below is from her record "Cover the Windows and theWalls" and another from "Dragging a Dead Dear up a Hill". 

Grouper-Follow In Our Dreams

Grouper-Heavy Water/I'd Rather Be Sleeping

Pissed Jeans-Shallow

For better or worse I think did it backwards with Pissed Jeans.  When "Hope for Men" was released almost two years ago I picked it up based on a review I read that said they sounded "My War" era Black Flag and the Jesus Lizard.  When I see music journalists using either of these bands for reference points I am almost always skeptical and rarely interested.  Keeping all this in mind I would have to say Pissed Jeans are the real deal.  Even though it took me forever to get Pissed Jeans debut "Shallow" I think it is my favorite of their two full length records.  Although its a short record it really delivers a lot of quality tunes in about the same time period it would take for you to watch an episode of the Fresh Prince.  This is the type of record where one song gets stuck in your head and when you listen to it you decide to start it from the beginning and let it play to the end.  Both of the tracks below are off their record "Shallow".  Buy their records, you wont regret it.  

Pissed Jeans-I Broke My Own Heart

Pissed Jeans-Wachovia

Ornette Coleman-The Shape of Jazz to Come

People had differing opinions on Ornette Coleman. Miles Davis said that Coleman was “all screwed up inside” during some interview. Davis later recanted what he said but the statement never went away. Roy Eldridge had this to say: "I'd listened to him all kinds of ways. I listened to him high and I listened to him cold sober. I even played with him. I think he's jiving baby." You never really knew what you were going to get when it came to his music. “The Shape of Jazz to Come” came out in 1959 and was one of the first avant-garde jazz records ever. People were shocked and blown away with the fact that the record had very little chord structure and seemed to be all over the place musically. He’ll start off with a main theme followed by wild solo’s that last a few minutes then he’ll dive back into the main theme and start over again. Sometimes every band member will be soloing simultaneously causing a mess of noise that somehow comes out perfect. This record was pretty much responsible for starting a whole new type of jazz (avant-garde, free jazz) and was groundbreaking for jazz in general. I posted a song from the record and a link to his official site where you can see his discography and some videos.

Band Members for “The Shape of Jazz to Come”:

Ornette Coleman – Alto Sax
Don Cherry – Cornet
Charlie Haden – Bass
Billy Higgins – Drums

Coleman is 79 and still playing live and recording in the studio. Check out his newest record Sound Grammar where he plays alto sax, trumpet and violin and tears them all up. It was recorded live in Germany and won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for music.


Ornette Coleman-Eventually

Ornette Coleman Official Site

Shellac

Steve Albini is the fucking man. I am having a really hard time thinking of a place to start with this. Since this is a Shellac post I won't go too far into his earlier band Big Black but they basically started industrial music but played it a lot cooler than anybody else has since. In 1992 Albini started Shellac with Todd Trainer on drums and Bob Weston on bass. Out of all of Albini's personal music endeavors I think that Shellac has always been the band that I got the most excited about. I've always really admired Albini for being publicly outspoken about his recording techniques which range from denouncing the "producer" title to not accepting royalties from his recordings. I think you would have to search far and wide for a record collection that doesn't contain the mark of Steve Albini somewhere in it, even if the owner of the record isn't aware of it.I became a fan of his almost subconsciously. By the time I found out who he was I already had a bunch of records from bands he had worked with like Nirvana, Jawbreaker and the Pixies . I think he has had such a prolific career because people can easily relate to him.  He always seems to keep things simple and focus more on what the band already has, bringing that out rather than trying to make them what they aren't using studio techniques.  I am going to leave a few different Shellac songs from different albums that I really enjoy. Their sound has taken on changes throughout their career but I think its safe to say if you like what you hear than you will probably be into everything else they have released.

Shellac-Song of the Minerals

Shellac-Squirrel Song

Sore Eros-Second Chants

Aside from the cover artwork, I am really surprised that I haven't seen more about this band. Sore Eros is one guy from Connecticut who used to play in Ariel Pink's backing band. It's easy to hear that he would fit in well with Ariel Pink's band but I think this record stands up to anything Ariel Pink has released. At first listen "Second Chants" seems too be hazy and meandering but after a few listens you realize that each song has a really strong melody behind the wandering. Each time I listen to this record I find a new song that seems to really stand out. It also works great as a cohesive album, each song fits perfectly into the next creating a layered hypnotic feeling that is present throughout the whole album. With certain artists this could be annoying or monotonous but I think Sore Eros succeeds in keeping you interested and engaged. I read that Shdwply Records only made about 500 of these but on their myspace page they say it will be repressed soon on 180 gram vinyl which will make it sound even better. I will leave the address for Shdwply records below as well as two tracks from the record.

Sore Eros-Lips Like Wine

Sore Eros-In My Heart

Shdwply Records

Obits-I Blame You

I feel like its only right that I get something from the John Reiss/Rick Froberg camp on this blog. Although Drive like Jehu broke up way before my time I always loved their records and tried to stay up to date with as many of their post Jehu projects as I could. I even saw the Hot Snakes play a few times when they were touring in support of their last record "Audit In Progress". Obits is the new project from ex-Hot Snakes and Jehu singer/guitarist Rick Froberg. I heard that after seeing a recording of their first show Sub-Pop approached them with a several record deal. Pretty impressive for a new band with only a handful of shows under their belt. The attitude behind the band seems to be just play and make records and let everything else kind of fall in to place. From the looks of it their plan has been working out so far. Make sure you pick up their Sub-Pop debut "I Blame You" on March 24. If you pre-order it from the Sub-Pop site you get a bunch of far out stuff for free including a "magical-seeming Obits Lenticular card" designed by the band themselves as well as a link to a special steaming website of "I Blame You" which will be available up until the release date.


Obits-Talking to the Dog