Episode Thirteen

Howdy and good evening! I’m trying a new thing! I’m writing MY notes for this episode BEFORE WE ACTUALLY RECORD THE EPISODE! That is some wild stuff in my world! It is Friday and I’m a nerdy middle-aged man… the less said in that regard the better, come to think of it!

This is an episode about some of our favourite compilations! Please click hereabouts and/or thereabouts as per your preferences! Here’s hoping that we encountered a mite fewer technical hiccups than we did with episode 12!

Are we not entertained?? #bogmonstermusic

Audio file… if that’s like your thing, man… #audiophile #bogmonstermusic

And finally there is most def a YouTube playlist. Come get some!!

Dan’s Notes

International PEACE benefit comp (R-Radical Records, 1984)

I had added this to my list right before it ended up being discussed a bit on social media recently (compared to other 40 year old DIY punk compilations I suppose), for basically the same reason I fell in love with it after buying a copy second hand from one of the older scene vets in our hometown when I was like 18 – it’s an awesome snapshot of the more grassroots end of the punk scene literally around the world in the early 80’s, where more well-known North American and British acts like The Dead Kennedys, DOA, and Crass are featured alongside up and comers like The Proletariat and Articles Of Faith, and plenty of heavy hitters from around the world like Sweden’s MOB47, Argentina’s Los Violadores and Japan’s GISM. In the wake of GISM vocalist Sakevi Yokoyama’s recent passing a few weeks before we recorded this ep, several folks whose music has been influential to me over the years all posted about how this compilation in particular was key in introducing them to GISM and the Japanese hardcore scene in general, not to mention the larger international scene in an era before the internet. Each band recieves a full page of a thick 60+ page 8”x11” zine for lyrics, art, manifestos etc that helps contribute to the sheer deluge of information that hits you when flipping through it. This 2xLP really helped open the door for punk fans in the US to really discover some of the very best bands active at the time all over the world. They even included a a couple of poems written and read by South African punk spoken word artist Zenzile to make sure every continent (save for Antarctica I guess) is included on the record. The original release on R Radical Records is long out of print and there is a truly cursed CD rerelease on New Red Archives Records in the late 90’s that includes none of the supplemental info or other band art, but does add a handful of crappy songs by current-at-the-time bands on that label, which does nothing but take away from the original collection in the end. Luckily Dave Dictor of MDC (who ran R-Radical back in the day), reissued it again in 2020 in a slightly closer to the original form version thankfully without cruddy AntiFlag and Jack Killed Jill songs from the 1997 CD version.

V/a – State Of The Union (Dischord, 1989)

XXX…Some Ideas Are Poisonous (Ebullition, 1995)

I grouped these two together on the show as “time and place snapshots” from the two record labels whose output had the most formative of influences on me in younger years -Washington DC’s Dischord Records and Goleta CA’s Ebulliton Records. The first, a 1989 benefit for DC-area community groups, State Of The Union is a rockin slice of the era of the Washington scene at the end of the more fast and punk bands documented on the “Flex Your Head” comp Matt mentioned but just before the more emotive and angular Fugazi era of things, with an early pre-Guy Piccioto three piece version of that band as well as Piccioto’s post-Rites Of Spring band One Last Wish. It leads of with a late-era Scream instrumental and then leads into one of my all time underrated punk anthems, Ignition’s “Anger Means” and another 14 killer acts from a cross-section of DC’s greatest bands of this very transitional era. Other standout bands include Soulside, Red Emma, Marginal Man and an early appearance by Shudder To Think.

Jumping things across the continent a few years later, we have Ebullition’s XXX Some Ideas Are Poisonous double LP compilation from 1995. This was the very first release I purchased from this label, and is very much a prototypical release from the label, put together to showcase bands who identified as “straight edge” but did not subscribe to the bro-y tough guy youth crew tropes that most bands who identified as such did at the time. The bands ranged from the more “emo” acts like Policy Of Three and Threadbare to the heavier sounds of Groundwork and Endeavor, into straight up grindcore from album openers Monster X. The double LP (also released as a CD still packaged in the vinyl-sized sleeve to accommodate the large booklet that came with it, featuring one page devoted to each of the 14 bands on the compilation, as well as a lengthy personal essay/rant from label head Kent McClard about what straight edge meant to him at that time. It was a huge deal to me when I first purchased it, and over the time in my life that I identified as straight edge it was a huge part of it. Hell, even my very first tattoo was inspired by the compilation’s cover art. I was even fortunate enough to see one of the bands from the comp live, catching Albany straightedge grinders Monster X at a particularly memorable live show in their home town while I was tagging along with one of Tfw opening acts for that night. It still stands as one of my favourite comps from a label that released quite a few great ones during their heyday,

Soundbombing II (Rawkus Records, 1999)

I feel like there is so much to be said about the record label sampler CD as a means of getting new or more obscure artist’s work out there in a pre-music streaming era that I could go on an extensive side rant at another time, but needless to say, Rawkus Records’ 1999 Soundbombing Vol 2 paints a picture of the (mostly NY-based) indie hip hop scene about to break out large. Ostensibly a mix of new 12” singles released through the label that year, it really showcases that iteration of the indie scene before several key players moved on to wider success, and during a time when Rawkus were considered standard bearers and taste makers of that scene, before certain lore behind it’s funding (specifically the involvement of one of Rupert Murdoch’s sons as an investor in a label that proudly waved the “indie” flag) during this time took a little bit of bloom off of the label’s rose during it’s later years and other artists moved on to imprints like Def Jux and even the majors in some cases into the 00’s. Still; it was a time in underground hip hop where you could find Eminem’s last indie single (“Any Man” featured here) up against one of Company Flow’s last recordings as a group, and up and comers like fka Mos Def, Common, and Pharoah Monche, all blended into a nearly seamless mix by DJs J-Roc and Babu of The Beat Junkies DJ collective. This album was my first real introduction to the iconic label back when it came out, and sought out all of their major releases at the time like Monche’s “Internal Affairs”, Mos Def’s “Black On Both Sides” and CoFlow’s “Funcrusher Plus” afterwards. Even longtime fringe-dwellers of underground rap like RA The Rugged get a chance to shine on here, and like so many other good compilations gives a failry comprehensive look at that era of indie hop hop with artists who wouldn’t necessarily be featured so closely together ever again due to their differing career trajectories. Plus it’s just wall to wall great, some unfortunate lyrical content (the Eminiem song is, well, an early Eminem song and all in re his love of F-slurs) on a track or two aside. Definitely worth seeking out for anyone interested in good hip hop music.

Songs From The Motion Picture “Judgment Night” (Immortal Records, 1993)

Technically, this is the soundtrack to a forgettable early 90’s thriller about Emilio Estevez, Jeremy Piven and Cuban Gooding Jr witnessing a drug deal gone wrong outside a boxing match in downtown Chicago or something like that, but in practice it serves as a killer collection of 11 collaborations between big name “alternative rock” and some of the top hip hop artists at the time it was released in 1993. Some of these tracks may even be some of my favourites by those artists. Seriously though, how the hell is a great song like De La Soul and Teenage Fanclub’s “Fallin” brought into the world to be part of a goddamn Jeremy Piven movie soundtrack? For whatever the reason, I’ll take it. There was originally supposed to be a 12th song on the album, a collaboration between Zack De La Rocha from RATM and the band Tool, but apparently the resulting song was so bad it has been abandoned and disowned by all parties, and it has managed to stay completely buried and has never been released since (which makes me ask, what makes it worse that all of Tool’s already very bad music?). Seriously though, as someone whose musical tastes were firmly planted in the genres of both sides of these collaborations when this came out, it seriously felt like the best of both worlds coming together. All are original songs except “Disorder” by Ice T and Slayer, which is actually a medley of three songs by The Exploited – “UK82” (renamed LA92 in reference to that year’s riots over the Rodney King verdict), “Disorder”, and “War”, with Ice in full Body Count frontman mode on vocals. All of the tracks stand out as at least pretty good, and it’s one of the rare times these sorts of crossings of the genre streams seemed to really earnestly work out without pandering or condescending to the fans if either side, just a bunch of the days top acts getting together to collaborate on a collection of songs so much better than the movie they are ostensibly the soundtrack for.

Matt’s Notes

So! To get right to the chase!

I haven’t necessarily listened to all / any of these RECENTLY… although I am listening to them during the few minutes I’m typing this… I’m not 100% a fabricator and slacker… but when I am, I am probably BETTER THAN AVERAGE at being a fabricator and slacker…

I’M A LEARNING TECHNOLOGIST! I KILL WHAT I EAT!

*Thump*

I’ll be fine…

*Nor am I sure that I spoke to all of these during the actual episode! But I definitely spoke to SOME of them! And the ones I didn’t speak to are certainly legit in their own rights!

Punk Rock Halloween II – Louder Faster & Scarier

This is where it becomes obvious that I was more about ANY comps that I happen to own… as opposed to the BEST… but this is great when you want absolutely fun, brainless times! So… pretty indispensable in its own way, really!

There was a time not that long ago that I bought records on a whim—

So I heard Chris Wollard talking about this song on a podcast… and I am deep enough into anything Wollard records that I am going to own this as well! A cover of a Roky Erickson song no less…

Also featuring songs by The Queers, Pully, Down by Law… when will I ever go into Discogs for those? Probably never! So… like we said on the recording… comps are great for that!

Jetstar Records – The Soul Sides & Stax Number Ones

I’m just infatuated with 60’s and 70’s Soul music. Full stop!

Besides that, the Jetstar record was a find because I’ve heard none of these artists anywhere else… the detailed musician bios on the back is helpful in that regard!

For me, Stax Records from Memphis carries lots of weight… mainly due to the Big Star connection… half of this record are hits that anybody should recognize from movie soundtracks… oldies radio… and the like… but then the other half… Eddie Floyd! Rufus Thomas! The Dramatics! I could go on…

These comps are like moments of time in these scenes, man…

Moncton’s Burning: 18 Slabs From The Underground

Moncton has always been enigmatic and exotic to me. It’s hard for me to say why.

For sure, part of it is Eric’s Trip being from there. As an Anglo in New Brunswick who LAMENTABLY and LAZILY neglected my own French education in public school… Moncton was a place I visited infrequently, even with a family connection there… despite the rich music scene which clearly was and still is going on there… as this great comp attests to!

It’s weird to say that I have different expectations of comps than other kinds of records. I expect more eclecticism and maybe probably lower quality due to throwaway tracks often appearing on these things… from what I can tell there are no throwaway tracks by any of these artists…

Any of them are worth checking out, really! Because it’s a nice vinyl record at a good price point… supporting local or localish artists, labels, and stores checks lots of boxes for me…

While looking things up for this episode, I came across an excellent write-up by Matt Carter at Grid City Magazine It’s also worth looking at the Discogs page for more info on the artists.

Will this go on the turntable all the time? Unlikely! Does it take a respectable place in the regular rotation of vinyl? Absolutely!

Flex Your Head

It’s hard to share how cool these songs are via YouTube links. I’m aware of how tinny and generally shittily it comes across in these rectangular widgets. Still, for historical influence it’s hard to overstate its importance… above and beyond the MUSICAL necessity of hearing artists like the Teen Idles, State of Alert, Government Issue, and Void playing songs the majority of which are less than two minutes long. Like I said, influential! For sure Dave Grohl owns this… and probably got it maybe around the time it originally came out… growing up in DC as he did… and since his band Scream put out their first record on Dischord the same year this comp came out…

Zzz

Zzzzzzz— snort, gasp… drool: Yes, I’m awake. Whatever gave you the impression I wasn’t?

Punk Rock Christmas & Punk Rock Christmas 2

So… uh… copy and paste what I said about Punk Rock Halloween… including the bit about Ship Thieves! Especially the bit about the Ship Thieves..

Back when the trees of money could be hacked down with an axe and chopped up into digital widgets and from whence converted finally into vinyl discs with these specific sounds engraved into them was a long time ago indeed… all the more reason to own them, to be honest.

It’s a goddamned miracle of capitalism is what it is.

How likely am I to own entire records by Reagan Youth, UK Subs, or Anti-Nowhere League anytime soon? Not very! So… we have these! MDC, Johnny Thunders, and Ship Thieves are all represented in the Punk Rock Halloween series as well. Ho freaking ho freaking ho.

All the President’s Men

I think the case is there to be made for this to be on a top five 90’s hardcore comps list… by virtue of the roster alone… many of whom were from bands that lasted fewer than five years… and maybe only recorded a couple of records outside of a comp appearance…

And as I understand Great American Steak Religion only put out fewer than a couple dozen records… including Shotmaker’s Crayon Club! And some others where if you’re looking at a survey of the era you’d have to include at least a half dozen of their bands. “They” in this case being Yannick Lorrain… who has been spoken of more than once on this podcast!

So… the tinny shittiness of a YouTube widget playing this on a shitty computer or smartphone speaker doesn’t really do it justice…

For me it’s great to throw on and have it fill the room that I happen to be in. I appreciate the brutal physicality of say ASSFACTOR4… or ACME… or MAXIMILLIAN COLBY… or SHOTMAKER…

Anyway, I’ve argued here and elsewhere that 90’s hardcore is one of the best things that Late Gen X… or, as I say, the Greatest Generation… can be credited with… there isn’t really much else from a musical standpoint… besides some of the rap music, I suppose…

ANYWAY…

Punk Canada Vol.2

The prominent position of this on the wall at either Backstreet Records or Second Spin Records here in Saint John was a major factor in grabbing this excellent comp, as was the twenty dollars plus tax price point… do I have to know all 16 bands to know this is rad prior to buying? I do not. I did not. But uh… DAYGLO ABORTIONS! And NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH! This is, I am sure, the only physical media I own by either of those. And the rest… scratches a certain itch! I can throw it on knowing immediately the kind of thing I’m in for and have those expectations reliably met or exceeded. And that’s all you want from a record at the end of the day, sometimes!

PLUS the accompanying booklet is righteous in its own right…

As Dan mentioned in the recording, this is the product of the Punk Canada Facebook group’s collective efforts! This may be the first instance of FB being used positively that I’ve ever heard of…

Oh, oh, oh… and the Volume One Bandcamp looks decent as well….

Motown Greatest Hits

I mean, you can just throw it on and instantly feel good. You want to party? You want to dance around your living room? You want to feel better after ANY kind of day at work? After getting ghosted on Tinder for the fourteenth time in three or four months… OR WHATEVER YOUR THING IS, MAN…

This record will get you where you want to go… any conceivable kind of itch can be clawed at…

Try and imagine how Fugazi would sound without soul music on the brain? You can’t.

If getting down is your business, you will need to turn in the direction of this comp… or else culture is going to turn you there… and if you can’t handle it, frankly you should probably listen to another podcast… for people who refuse to swing!

Thinking on it now, I’m going to say we could definitely do a part two of this episode anytime… cause we haven’t touched very many soundtracks… and there are way more “seasonal” comps the more I think about it… for starters!

Today New Brunswick, Tomorrow the World