Monday, February 22, 2010

Redd Kross - Phaseshifter


For this next post, I’ll be continuing what I left off, that is posting records released here locally that I actually like. In case you don’t know it yet I’m based here in Manila and acquiring records means ordering abroad or asking your friends living in the US or UK to buy these records for you. Because finding good records in your local record shop is like finding an adamantium meteorite! So finding a good record that I actually like is a total high for me.

But in recent years, local record companies acquired licenses to release Mammoth, 4AD, Victory, Noise, Ryko, Rhino labels among others. For the first time, Pixies, Sonic Youth, Modern English, Sugar, Bob Mould, Cocteau Twins, Warzone and others became available. This move made a lot of us here very happy. And it did lower the CD prices considerably because I don’t have to scour the imports bin or order them.

Redd Kross’ Phaseshifter was one of those records that actually saw Manila’s shores. Boy, I am so glad it was released here locally. It was one of those all-killer-no-filler albums. I actually lent this to one of the bosses in my office. He’s not into rock music but I think he was trying to open his mind a bit (hehehe). Prior to that, he told me he bought Meat Loaf’s Bat Out of Hell II: Back to Hell (is that right? who cares!) and the two Use Your Illusion CDs of Guns n Roses and he actually liked them. So he asked me if I could suggest some more ‘rock’ records since I’m the office ‘rocker’ (wtf!). So lent him my cassette copy of Phaseshifter (I already bought the CD copy by this time) and I told him that this will kick the asses of both Meat Loaf and the whole GnR crew! The next day came and he was all praises for Redd Kross and asked me how come he never heard of them before because they were so damn good. For the first time I was stumped. I don’t know what to say. I can’t explain it either. So I told him that there’s no justice in this world we live in (hahahaha). I added that there are lots of bands as good (a lot of them) or even better (not so many bands actually) than Redd Kross that do not get the recognition they deserve to have. Bands like Ramones, Pixies, Husker Du/Sugar/Bob Mould, Joy Division, Descendents/ALL, Wipers just to name a few, deserved more recognition and success than bands like Motley Crue and Warrant got! He agreed with me, though he hasn’t heard any of the bands I mentioned. He just took my word for it just on the strength of Phaseshifter. That’s how good this record is, so grab it if you do not have this one yet on your collection!

Next up is the Posies’ two DGC releases, Frosting on the Beater and Amazing Disgrace. I first learned about the Posies because their songs Definite Door and Dream All Day received considerable airplay in the local rock station. So I first bought the cassette since CD prices were so high back then. The plan was to buy the cassette first then if it’s any good then I’ll buy the CD. Some plan huh. The melody is the key to the Posies. Their ability of churn out good melodies on top of those heavy guitars, say in Definite Door, is astonishing. That makes this record on heavy rotation for months to come especially after I bought the CD two days after I bought the cassette.

And when Amazing Disgrace came out, I immediately bought the CD on the strength of Frosting alone. And what do you know, Amazing Disgrace did not disappoint. ‘Amazing’ offered a lot more to the table than the last one. Elements of punk and some feedback a la Sonic Youth were infused. Terrorize’s intro is reminiscent of the Pixies. What’s more was the guest appearance of power pop stalwarts Robin Zander and guitarist Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick.


Enjoy!!!


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the Posies - Frosting on the Beater


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the Posies - Amazing Disgrace


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Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Manic Street Preachers - Generation Terrorist


During the late 8os and early 90s, I saw my musical taste shifted from punk to metal, specifically thrash metal. Metal is not that alien to me since my older brothers groomed me to bands like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. So shifting gears towards metal was like visiting an old uncle. Metallica, Slayer, Exodus, Death Angel, Motorhead, Iron Maiden and the crossed-over DRI were the staples around the house for a number of years. And in between my Metallicas and Slayers were the so-called alternative bands like Sonic Youth and the Pixies. To make matters worse for punk music, a bag full of punk and hardcore cassettes was stolen. Though most of them were copies I made from my friends’ LPs, punk classics such as Black Flag’s Damaged, Dead Kennedys’ Fresh Fruits, Crucifix’ Dehumanization, Descendents’ Milo Goes to College and Enjoy, and Verbal Abuse’s Just An American Band we’re lost in that bag.

And then, a slew of “underground” releases were made available locally that made me realized how much I missed punk rock. Bands like Manic Street Preachers, Senseless Things and Ned’s Atomic Dustbin gave me a wake-up call. I know, these bands were not exactly punk bands but they sure sounded like one which was more than ok for me. The Manic’s Generation Terrorist and Senseless Things’ Empire of the Senseless” were totally awesome plus Ned’s Atomic Dustbins’ Kill Your Television” blew me away!

So, I tried to scrounge every music store here in Manila looking for my old punk classics. At first, all I can manage to get were the Clash, the Damned, Minor Threat and Sex Pistols’ records. Then came Tower Records. They carried lots of titles my normal record store wouldn’t carry. I bought my Bad Brains’ ROIR cd there, tons of Descendents, Black Flag and Circle Jerks records plus a whole lot more. I know what it felt like to be in a record collectors’ heaven! But the downside was these records don’t come cheap but that didn’t stop me. I finally got the Verbal Abuse and Crucifix cd’s from my friend who introduced me to crust.

I ran across my high school buddy in our reunion 6 years ago and asked him if he still has the Crucifix and Verbal Abuse vinyl. He still has them but wouldn’t sell them to me. Damn!

Anyways, I was so glad I came across Manic Street Preachers and the Senseless Things. They sure helped me find my lost youth.

Enjoy!


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Senseless Things - Empire of the Senseless


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Senseless Things - Postcards CV


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Ned's Atomic Dustbin - God Fodder


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Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Anarchy 6 - Live Like a Suicidal & White Stripes - Redd Blood Cells



Another month passed us by and I haven't posted anything yet. Actually, I have uploaded a lot in my Mediafire account but I haven't gone around it. I will be posting them sooner than you think.

Anyways, this came from the comments section of the Anarchy 6 post. A reader by the name of Greba Guru was kind enough to upload the two Anarchy 6 releases - Hardcore Lives and Live Like Suicidal. My Hardcore Lives link is still active though but he managed to put these releases into one link. He also added the White Stripes thing Steve McDonald did for good measure. Steve McDonald added bass guitars on the White Stripes album White Blood Cells and renamed it Redd Blood Cells.

While the Live Like a Suicidal is a cassette-only release of punk/hardcore covers recorded live. The songs covered here were from Circle Jerks (Greg Hetson used to play with Red Cross before going to the Circle Jerks), SOA, Fear, Suicidal Tendencies and Red Cross/Red Kross. I personally like the rants in-between songs, it's hilarious.

The band consisted of members of Redd Kross and Sin 34.

Vocals: Steve McDonald (aka Chemical Warfare)

Drums: Dave Markey (aka Mark Davey)

Bass: Phil Newman (aka H.C. Skinner)

Guitar: Michael F. Glass (aka Spike Geek)



Tracklist from Live Like a Suicidal:

I Love Livin in the City
State of War
Lost in Space
I Just Want Some Skank - Beverly Hills
12 Hour Trip
Rich Brat
Institutionalized
Shutdown
Slam, Spit, Cut your hair, Kill your mom
Louie Louie

Again, thanks to Greba Guru.

Enjoy!


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