Shards Of Beauty

2011-11-14T12:02:00.000-08:00

Wingtip Sloat & Empty Box - early tapes

I've had this rip sitting in my projects folder for a few years now. I was afraid to really get into it because I knew it would be a discography/tracking nightmare, and I was right. But this history must be heard!

Fans of early 90's lo-fi may have fond memories of the Wingtip Sloat crew, who were one of the first (if not the first) bands on the VHF label. Shredding in a manner quite similar to the Pavement and GBV records of the time, but with a bit more instrumental meandering, screamy walls of static, and other experimental moves.

Empty Box were the pre-Sloat incarnation, and we also have here their only release that I know of aside from a Bananafish comp track. Not on Discogs. "A Blow To The Head 1986-89" is the cassette title, but the tracks don't match up - I've made my best estimate and left off the last two titles ("Mouthcramp" and "Cranes", for the curious). Much more sedate & normal than the Sloat boys, with added tape warble.

The tracking on the debut Wingtip Sloat release "User Friendly Bowl Wrapper" is even worse, as was noted on the dubbed copy I received back in '91 - there are a LOT more songs than titles. Using their cover of The Clean as a benchmark, I have titled the last eight tracks according to the Discogs entry, your guess is as good as mine for the earlier ones.

I think it would be really cool if VHF could release these and the other two Sloat tapes someday. Any casual fan of that brash, hissy early 90's aesthetic should give 'em a listen.

A Blow To The Head

User Friendly Bowl Wrapper

2011-10-16T15:10:00.000-07:00

The Staple Singers - MRC-059

A little thank you to places like Rootblog for putting up so many of these lovely Mississippi Records cassette mixes. Some seriously rockin' gospel heaven for ya. This one is unusual in that it focuses on a single artist.

SSMRC059

2011-10-11T16:06:00.000-07:00

Modern Lovers - Songs Of Remembrance

great overview of the early 70's.

in FLAC

ML-SOR

liner notes:

1-4 jonathan richman's first demos 1970
according to http://www.modernlovers.com/ the following songs
were also recorded at this session (in boston, sometimes referred
to as the harvard square demos) but have yet to surface.
* cosmic plane of the arcane
* she's taking the pill for me
* sunshine your eyes
* someone i care about

5-7 modern lovers first session, boston ma 1971 (not 1972 as listed on the sleeve).
sessions held at intermedia sound in boston.
"ride the highway" was evidently recorded as well.

6-8 demos with john cale, spring 1972
march or april 1972, demos for warner bros at whitney studios in la.
evidently a further version of roadrunner was recorded.

10-12 aborted album sessions with john cale, autumn 1973
september (?) 1973 sessions for warner bros at elektra studios, la.
according again to http://www.modernlovers.com/ these tracks
were not the cale album session versions but earlier versions
from a kim fowley session (10 & 11) at dinky dawsons studios
in june 1972 and an august 1973 session also with kim fowley
at gold star studios in la.

13 live 1972
live in radcliffe, october 1972. unknown venue.

14-17 mercer arts centre, nyc, new year's eve 1972-12-31.
evidently wayne county and the new york dolls were also on the bill.

18 cambridge boat house, ma, 1972

2011-07-24T09:30:00.000-07:00

Eno & Schwalm - Lanzarote 2001

Another great soundboard recording that hasn't been released.

It was fantastic! The whole thing took place in a volcano (extinct, at least during the concert). You had to leave your car on the nearby road, and climb into a bus which carried you a few hundred meters through deeply fissured lava fields. Through a wide gap in the crater wall you reached a plain ground covered with black gravel. In the center they had installed their gear, only separated from the audience (1700 people) by a knee-high fence. The audience space was surrounded by a number of speakers. Everybody was sitting on the ground (you were given a cushion plus a paper bag for your rubbish plus a small cardboard ashtray when entering the crater).

LANZAROTE

2011-07-21T06:34:00.001-07:00

Eno, Schwalm, Czukay

Cool collaboration that hasn't seen the official light of day yet. From the notes:

an audience recording of the ENO/Schwalm/Czukey concert 'Sushi! Roti! Reibekuchen!' (which took place at the same venue on 27th August 1998 and was Eno's first live concert after 15 years).

Sushi Roti Reibekuchen

2011-07-08T16:35:00.000-07:00

Muslimgauze - Best Of

while I'm here...

About ten years ago I was really obsessed with this music, so I have most of the releases up to 2005 or so. I made this comp for a friend of mine and I think it provides a pretty good overview of the man's styles. You can go to Discogs if you want to find out what record a track is from originally, maybe it'll even be in print!

MG BEST OF

2011-07-08T13:11:00.001-07:00

Eno & The Winkies - Live 1974

A co-presentation with the Doom And Gloom From The Tomb blog, this is the FLAC version. You may think it's silly to have a show of such low quality in lossless, but wait until you hear the two unreleased songs! You'll be glad for those extra lo-fi muances.

in two parts

1
2

Enjoy! More Eno coming later this month.

2011-01-26T14:33:00.000-08:00

John Cale - live in the (late) 70's

Got my memory jogged by a discussion of the sad non-availability of Cale's Even Cowgirls Get The Blues CD. That currently overpriced record features some pretty iffy sound quality, and there's a couple of other ROIO shows from the same era that have the same songs with better sound. So here you go! A great soundboard from Dallas and a very good audience tape from Philly, a year after Cowgirls was first released in some weird kind of mail-order-only LP version (it was reissued once in 1990 or so and has been out of print ever since). If you only listen to one thing here, please check out the Dallas version of "Even Cowgirls..." (the song). Just amazing... I think that's Judy Nylon from Snatch on vocals. The Philly show is a raw audience recording, but everything comes through loud and clear. Plus, it has a number of superior takes including a furious "Casey At The Bat".

As a bonus I've included the full CBGB's set that most of Cowgirls is drawn from. Reissue the damn CD, John! Preferably in a box set with these other shows.

FLAC files can be converted with the freeware programs Trader's Little Helper (for PC) and xACT (for Macs), if anyone is wondering. They will also play using the VLC program.

Dallas 1979 (flac)
Philadelphia 1979 (flac)
CBGB's 1978 (mp3)

2010-12-19T08:36:00.000-08:00

RIP CAPTAIN BEEFHEART

This man was a true American hero. Here it is my great pleasure to present you with the complete remastered "Spotlight Kid Outtakes", a staggering 5-disc set of unreleased heaven. In FLAC because it deserves it.

SPOTLIGHT KID OUTTAKES

(late edit: also, be sure to head over to Doom And Gloom From The Tomb for a link to the mono version of Safe As Milk, essential!)

2010-12-18T20:53:00.000-08:00

Lots of deaths in the extended musical family lately.

First we pay tribute to the staggering genius of Peter Christoperson, with a long radio interview including some musical interludes.

PC INTERVIEW

2010-11-06T13:48:00.000-07:00

William S. Burroughs - On The Nova Lark flexi

Great little record from the superb Kansas label Fresh Sounds... for what it's worth they also released the SPK and Embarrassment cassettes found elsewhere on this blog. Here we have WSB in a more soundscape oriented mood with his distinct crackling tone intoning what is most likely an excerpt from one of his books.

In FLAC because it's short...

WSB flexi

2010-10-31T13:06:00.000-07:00

Climax Golden Twins - live series

Released as a series of faux-78 style 10" records around ten years ago by Anomalous. Limited even when they came out (I think there were 250 copies of each one?) and even rarer these days. Happy Halloween - these aren't super scary but they sure do get noisy sometimes.

PARTS 1+2
PARTS 3+4

2010-10-07T17:04:00.001-07:00

Sandy Denny - BBC video 1971

A special post here for the Doom & Gloom blog... please note that this is in archaic VCD format, but it should work in something like VLC.

One In Ten show

2010-06-21T09:07:00.001-07:00

Sufi Mind Game

Stunning power-duo action from Portland guitar legend Steven Wray Lobdell and former Hitting Birth drummer David Parks. Some classic "too rare for Discogs" items here this time, I figured I was overdue for a labor of love.

First up is this untitled live cassette (although it might be called "Complete Metamorphosis", see cover scan). I'm not sure if there is another tape or not, there was a review in Snipe Hunt magazine way back when but I was never able to ascertain whether it was the same one. This little beauty needed some serious resuscitation, particularly on the left channel. No sound processing was used other than gain adjustment.

Next we have their long-lost single for Holy Mountain (YAMA 002), complete with cover scans.

Finally, there was a single on the infamous Stomach Ache label, there was a cover but no track/recording info.

And as a little bonus I've included their track from the Bananafish compilation "My Baby Does Good Sculptures", the only thing that IS listed on Discogs from this lost treasure of a band. As always, any additional info or comments is appreciated.

Portland represent!

SMG

2010-06-14T09:50:00.000-07:00

David Jackman - Sol Mara

Beautiful, hypnotic drone goodness from the man behind Organum. This was initially released as a 1-sided LP included with Organum's Ikon EP, later it was reissued on CD with bonus versions. Out of print and well worth your time.

Sol Mara

2010-04-26T08:27:00.000-07:00

The Fall - Bury (Record Store Day 7")

Fantastic song from their great new album, with non-LP B-side. Already sold out, much to Fall fans' frustration. This is a FLAC rip for better oomph.

Bury/Cowboy Gregori

2010-03-23T13:14:00.000-07:00

More of Sir Richard Bishop, since the last one was pretty popular.

Strung Out (private limited CDR release)

split 12" with Earth (European tour record)

Enjoy! Got a couple more on the way.

2010-01-23T11:15:00.000-08:00

Trespassers W - Dummy 2LP

Named after a sign in the Winnie-the-Pooh books, this excellent Dutch band has continued to put out records over the years. Unfortunately this one is quite difficult to find these days, and of course it's my favorite. Kind of like a more theatrical, European version of The Ex, great stuff!

TW - Dummy

2010-01-05T14:50:00.001-08:00

Amor Fati - Body W/O Organs LP

Another great release from this basement madman, from the mid-80's and long out of print. I think this is the last one I have, there are some other tapes posted in the archives.

AF BWO

2009-12-06T17:23:00.000-08:00

SPK - Dokument IIIOO 6LP/3x7"

This impossibly lavish box is now out of print, so I will share my personal rip here. A lot of attention got paid to the singles, but I really think the later period live LPs create this fantastic noise/tribal vibe. Plus, a lot of the tracks were never released before.

UPDATE: The archive for LP 2 was broken, it has been fixed and reupped.

LP 1

LP 2

LP 3

LP 4

LP 5

LP 6

SINGLES BOX

2009-11-20T14:09:00.000-08:00

Sir Richard Bishop - Fingering The Devil (Special Edition)

I can't believe one of my favorite records of the decade is out of print. Here's the self-released version with some extra tracks, put out on CDR after the initial LP edition sold out in, like, six seconds.

FTD

2009-11-15T12:21:00.000-08:00

Half Japanese - 10 (10) Watts Live cassette

This tape was put out in two different versions with a different track order but all the same material. Stunning and noisy documentation of some great and long gone gig (gigs?) around the time of Sing No Evil. Probably my favorite period of the band overall. I really wish Drag City would reissue more of their early stuff! Like this!

TEN TO THE TENTH

2009-11-14T13:29:00.001-08:00

Angus MacLise

After a spate of archival releases around ten years ago, the work of this former Velvet Underground drummer has faded back into obscurity. As far as I know, all four of his official releases are now out of print. Here's my favorite ones:

Invasion Of Thunderbolt Pagoda

The Cloud Doctrine disc 1

The Cloud Doctrine disc 2

2009-11-01T15:53:00.000-08:00

Jad Fair - The Zombies Of Mora-Tau

A real high point of cracked noisy insanity in the extensive discography of Mr. Fair, this 1982 EP was his solo debut.

Happy Day Of The Dead!

ZOMBIES

2009-10-17T08:15:00.000-07:00

Legendary Pink Dots - Traumstadt 3

One of several pieces from this 5-tape series that have yet to see reissues, so here ya go. This lovely tape-only artifact contains ten songs from their mid-to-late 80's period, three of which are unavailable elsewhere. All tracks recorded live at various locations in Europe.

Maddeningly for us completists, there are a few tracks from both Traumstadt 1 and 2 that are not on the CD reissues. MIA from Vol. 1 (on Beta-Lactam) are "Close Your Eyes You Can Be A Space Captain" and "I Dream Of Jeannie".

From Traumstadt 2 (most of which is scattered across Stained Glass Soma Fountains and Under Triple Moons) the missing list includes versions of "Vigil-Anti", "Apocalypse Soon", "Suicide Pact", and "Violence", as well as the unknown-to-me "World War Six" and "Visitor To The Machine".

If anyone has the tapes, I'd love to put those tracks up here.

And now, the live tape:

LPDT3

2009-10-01T12:07:00.000-07:00

No Trend - Too Many Humans

Great Flipperesque hate sludge from these DC misfits. Their 1st album, unfortunately not available anywhere. There are 9 early demos on a Teenbeat CD but I don't think they are the same versions, and certainly don't include a lot of the tracks here.

YOU BREED LIKE RATS

2009-08-06T23:07:00.000-07:00

Annie Anxiety - live tape

Another true rarity here, not listed anywhere I can find. Four songs ranging from weird tape loop tracks to punk ragers. I think I hear Steve Ignorant in there on one track as well. Any information on this would be appreciated. More rare Annie Anxiety can be found HERE and her superb 1st LP Soul Possession is out there on the interweb.

AA LIVE TAPE

2009-08-02T21:50:00.000-07:00

Christine Baczewska - two tapes

Ms. Baczewska does have a Discogs entry, but these two C15 tapes aren't in it. Fascinating songs built out of nothing but vocals and loops. Looks like the B-side of the first tape was featured on a 1990 CD compilation, and she was also in an earlier band called Care Of The Cow, who had one 1981 LP. Anyone got that?

Seriously recommended stuff here!

The Brain Itself Feels No Pain C15

I Am I C15

UPDATE: The album by Care Of The Cow and some comments from Ms. Baczweska herself are available over at Mutantsounds.

2009-07-31T12:11:00.001-07:00

In Be Tween Noise

Steve Roden used to work under this name, and released two really great CDs in the late 90's. Not really ambient, but quiet for the most part and very beautiful. He has a lot of more recent work available under his own name, as far as I know these are long out of print. Released on his own New Plastic Music label.

So Delicate And Strangely Made

Humming Endlessly In The Hush

And hey, if anyone out there has a good rip of the "Archival" 10" that Anomalous put out, I'd really appreciate it.

2009-06-26T10:10:00.000-07:00

New Boredoms uploads back HERE, at my very first post. These were requested and I am glad to present them.

2009-05-28T13:21:00.001-07:00

United Bible Studies - three more albums

As promised, here are three more out-of-print releases from this Dublin band. See the links from last March below for information about their currently available albums.

Airs Of Sun And Stone is a single long piece, live improv, recorded in a church.

[link deleted because this is still available, see comments]

Stations Of The Sun, Transits Of The Moon is mostly improv duets

And finally, the Black Colcannon CDR release is darker and noisier.

2009-05-26T23:47:00.000-07:00

Dog Faced Hermans - Live At The Ancienne Chocolaterie CASS

Live tape from this band (they had several, I think this is their 4th live cassette) at a peak in their career, right around the time of the great Mental Blocks For All Ages album (which was recently reissued by Mississippi Records). This features one otherwise unreleased song, if anybody knows the title please leave a comment.

I will be uploading some more releases in this vein soon.

DFH LIVE

2009-03-19T17:48:00.000-07:00

United Bible Studies - The Lunar Observatory

One of their earlier releases, on the Digitalis label. There are some more recent releases by them available at Deserted Village and Camera Obscura, but their earlier work is out of print right now. I will be posting some more shortly.

Lunar Observatory

2009-03-19T00:20:00.000-07:00

Controlled Bleeding - Head Chalk tape

This mysterious cassette is another thing not found on the Discogs site. The label that put it out, Cause And Effect, wasn't big on catalog numbers or info. This particular tape has nothing beyond the band name, title, and label printed on it. I remember seeing it for sale in magazine ads when it was released, so I am guessing 1986 or 87. This is my favorite CB period, and I present to you a great and otherwise unavailable piece of work in the vein of the Between Tides album.

Head Chalk

2009-01-02T08:58:00.000-08:00

Hi everybody! Happy New Year! Just letting you know I'm still here, continuing my campaign to be the laziest old-school MP3 blog ever.

Seriously, though, I am out of the country until mid-March. At that point I will re-up anything with problems (LPD's Chemical Playschool Vol. 3 side B, for example) and I have some really exciting and rare cassettes that I will rip for some new posts.

Until then, thanks everybody for the comments and support.

Shards Of Beauty

2008-08-02T18:39:00.001-07:00

Jarboe - Walls Are Bleeding CASS

A real rarity here that I don't see around very much, posted by request. Not listed in Discogs, this predates her work with Swans. Three tracks including the ultra-creepy full length version of the title track, this one includes a vicious high pitched whine that puts it over the top.

JARBOE WALLS

2008-07-23T22:24:00.000-07:00

United Bible Studies - Huntley Town 3" CDR

The best new band I have seen in quite some time, I was lucky enough to catch them on their recent U.S. tour. So much more than just traditional tunes, they bring a freeflowing psych improv vibe that greatly improves the recorded results. They have quite a few releases already, this is their out-of-print debut on the Slow Loris label.

Huntley Town

2008-04-26T19:39:00.000-07:00

The History Of Unheard Music - S/T cassette

Back when Staalplaat was called Staaltape they only released cassettes for a few years. This great, under-rated US band put out their debut on the label. Later on they released the Chapter One EP (don't know what label) and the highly recommended Drop It album (on RRR), both currently available over at Mutantsounds.

60 minute tape, limited edition of 250, from 1984. Many otherwise unreleased tracks and earlier versions of songs from the records.

HUM CASS

2008-04-19T15:58:00.000-07:00

Thomas Dimuzio - TD1 cassette

Debut release from this sound wizard, this predates his LP on Generations Unlimited (which I can also post if there is interest). Fully whacked drones collide with jittery computer soundwaves to maximum effect. This was also on the Generations Unlimited label, part of their "Dramatic Electronic Music Series". No catalog #, released in 1988.

TD1 CASS

UPDATE: link works now, sorry!

2008-04-06T20:08:00.000-07:00

Six Organs Of Admittance/Charalambides - Songs From The Entropic Garden Vol. 2

Part of a series of limited LPs on the uber-collector-scum label Time-Lag that were in tribute of Popol Vuh. Really great work from both bands that has yet to see any kind of reissue.

Entropic Garden 2

2008-04-05T19:24:00.000-07:00

Simon Wickham-Smith & Richard Youngs - A series...

Youngs gets more of the press and gets to play with Jandek, but for me these guys are at their best when playing together. First up, the rare Majora releases...

Asthma & Diabetes

Enedkeg

Then of course we have their famous 2nd album following the Lake 2LP. This was the first release of theirs to be anywhere near widely available, largely due to label Forced Exposure (RIP). I think some material on here is the same as the 2LP.

Ceaucescu

Next is a little-known 10" they did for the UK label 4th Dimension. This is one of my favorite releases of theirs. Released in 1995, edition of 400.

444D 10"

2008-04-02T18:10:00.000-07:00

OOIOO - 1st LP

Yoshimi is the secret weapon of the Boredoms. In her own band she has also created an impressive body of work. Their rare 1st album is currently out of print, but all the other records are available right now. Buy one today!

OOIOO1st

2008-04-01T19:19:00.001-07:00

Boredoms - Live on KXLU radio 1995

Another random net find from years back, I saw this on somebody's want list the other day. I just saw them on their recent tour and they were beyond amazing, one of the best shows I have ever seen. This is pretty different from what they are up to now, but it still rules hard. In my opinion, the current incarnation of the band has yet to be documented satisfactorily.

Boredoms at KXLU

2008-03-31T21:54:00.000-07:00

CTI - European Rendezvous/Elemental 7

Two fantastic live records from this Chris & Cosey side project, these benefit greatly from the addition of Konstruktivits member Glenn Wallis. There was a truncated single-CD reissue including tracks from both, but here they are in their full length versions, over 20 minutes of additional music.

Elemental 7

European Rendezvous

I have many more posts planned in the near future, stay tuned!

2008-02-26T21:27:00.000-08:00

Shards Of Beauty Top Ten

To celebrate my 50th post, I thought I'd let y'all know what people have liked the most here:

1. Public Flipper Ltd 2LP
2. Alvarius B S/T 2LP
3. Christoph Heeman - Aftersolstice CD
4. Christoph Heeman - Days Of The Eclipse CD
5. Lemon Kittens - Spoonfed & Writhing CD
6. Christoph Heeman - Invisible Barrier CD
7. UFO Or Die EP
8. V/A - Japan Bashing EP
9. Flipper - 1982 Demos
10. Schlafengarten - Narcotica CASS

Interesting. Only the #10 spot is a cassette, the format I focus on (although Flipper's demos almost certainly came from a tape). Also clearly some favored artists. Any other requests?

2008-02-26T21:23:00.000-08:00

Amor Fati - The White

I ripped this cassette for another group of internet friends, so I thought I should make it available here. Another one I got off of Ken back in the 80's, this has a different track listing than the Discogs entry with a lot less tracks. I don't know if it's incomplete or if there were two versions of the tape.

AF WHITE

2008-02-04T21:50:00.001-08:00

Tellus #13 - Power Electronics

Classic tape-only release from this New York City label which usually had a more "arty" focus to its compilations. Nothing but down and dirty noise here though!

Tracklisting:
A1 Maybe Mental - Look At The Clown
A2 Merzbow - Gamma-Titan
A3 Amor Fati - Will To Live
A4 If, Bwana - Umm...
A5 Rhys Chatham - Excerpt From XS
A6 Psyclones - Excerpt From Between Space
A7 Blackhouse - One Nation Under God
A8 Joseph Nechvatal - How To Kill
A9 Master/Slave Relationship - The Heaviest
B1 Maybe Mental - Memories Of My Birth
B2 Architects Office - AD 301.5
B3 Controlled Bleeding - Clotage
B4 Mojo - The Fighters Distance (Excerpt)
B5 Coup De Grace - Your Children
B6 Le Syndicat - Putrefied Brain (Excerpt)
B7 Mitch Corber - The Sirens
B9 F/i - On Off

TELLUS13

2008-02-03T18:49:00.000-08:00

SLP-SLP CD

Blistering, complicated noise from the geniuses behind the Selektion label in a one-off project. Check this review from Discogs:

Joachim Pense, Stefan E. Schmidt, Roger Schönauer, Ralf Wehowsky, Charly Steiger was the core members of the SLP collective, one of Selektion's most exessive projects - concerning the number of participants but also the differentation and interference of the different working concepts. The concert situation could assemble a "live recycling" of recorded material, a composition, which organised a chronological and spatial distribution of sounds, the first of the Selektio custom-built computer interfaces, which directed parts of the distribution and a quasi dramaturgical presentation through 4 operators who treated the turntables in the center of the quadrophonic sound-space.

SLP

2008-01-31T22:09:00.001-08:00

Architects Office - Caswallon The Headhunter LP

Posting this in a very late response to Cranio's request. Sorry, I used to have the AO353 cassette as well but I sold it. It wasn't really very good. THIS, however, is top notch weirdness of a very special nature. Released on PGR's label Silent back in 1986, the lengthy LP is an audio journey describing the Roman conquest of the British Isles. It presents a mix of real time story, historical perspective, and various digressions into modern topics. Written by Jane Brakhage, narrated by several different people, and with background music by AO. Fascinating.

AO CTHLP

2008-01-30T21:30:00.000-08:00

The Embarrassment - Retrospective

Another tape-only classic from the Fresh Sounds label (which also put out an SPK tape!). A tad unusual for this blog, but this is such a good example of Midwestern 80's pop punk in America. Pretty cool tunes, some of which are still unreleased in any other format. Almost all of their releases seem to be out of print. Someone oughta reissue this pronto. My tape definitely suffers from "cassette sound", so caveat emptor. This goes out to all the Indiana dudes, yo.

Note: After painstakingly recording, editing, and ripping this original cassette copy, I allowed the iTunes autotag to misspell the name of the band before I uploaded the zip file. Please fix the tag (insert "embarrassed" joke here).

EMBOS RETRO

2008-01-19T13:50:00.000-08:00

Amor Fati - Birth of Tragedy

Dense, longform stuff from this lovely 80's artist. Recently his work has been discussed among some comrades of mine and I am happy to provide this murky piece of bleak angst. Tape release on his own Flesh Records from who knows when, maybe 1984. Not listed on discogs, or perhaps under a different name. Support the artist at his website. Thanks to Ken G and his old girlfriend for the opportunity to preserve this tape.

Also recently got some positive feedback via word of mouth, which is always nice. I know it's been slow around here, but I assure you the folks in my sidebar have been making up for it.

AF BOT CASS

2007-12-05T08:26:00.000-08:00

REUPS

OK I decided to reup those files (except the Big Dentist, which I think was removed by Mediafire) with a different provider, sorry for the delay. Everything should work now, but I will say again that any files will be removed if artists just ask.

2007-12-03T09:17:00.000-08:00

MF Problems

Some links have been removed and/or are no longer good...

Legendary Pink Dots - Chemical Playschool #1 Side B
Lemon Kittens - Big Dentist

perhaps others, I am not sure.

Also, Part 2 of Charalambides is not loading properly. I will work on it.

2007-12-02T18:24:00.000-08:00

Charalambides - Market Square 2LP

This classic double LP was on the Siltbreeze label, which has recently been revivified and has been putting out good new stuff. It's pretty hard to find these days, and I have been on a big Charalambides kick so here you go. They have many fine records available through the Kranky label which you should buy, I have really been enjoying their A Vintage Burden CD.

Here it is ripped with love and care, in two parts:

Disc 1

Disc 2

UPDATE: Reupped by request.

2007-11-11T12:50:00.000-08:00

Crawling With Tarts - Candy Tooth Ceylon CASS

Sorry for the delay, I have been busy!

Here is my fourth CWT tape, this was released in an edition of 100 back in 1989. Starting with a longer, more abstract piece and then moving on to the same kind of twisted songs we found on The Tudor Tapes (released on the same day).

CANDY TOOTH CEYLON

2007-10-02T15:44:00.000-07:00

Alvarius B - S/T 2LP

I'd like to note that Abduction is reissuing some Sun City Girls CDs, you should check their website out. Meanwhile, we have this monumental item, Alan Bishop's second solo record under the Alvarius name. This might be my favorite Sun City Girls-related album ever, it is truly a fantastic and wonderful thing. Hell, it's one of my favorite albums ever, period. 39 songs, lots of really FUCKED UP words, and frantic guitar playing collide with some alternate universe.

Part 1

Part 2

2007-09-23T20:46:00.000-07:00

Flipper - Public Flipper Limited

Saw a request for this a while back, and I thought I'd put this up since a lot of people seemed to like those 1982 demos. This album came with a foldout cover that was a game board, you would move the Flipper Tour Van around the country and draw cards to get points. Sadly out of print, like the rest of their Subterranean releases.

Public Flipper Limited (sides 1 and 2)

Public Flipper Limited (sides 3 and 4)

Note: The first link has been reupped due to many people having problems. Sorry, let me know how it works! Also I am curious whether anyone managed to download the original first link (PFL1).

2007-09-12T17:51:00.000-07:00

Christoph Heemann - early solo works

I'm actually more of a P. Li Khan fan when it comes to H.N.A.S., but one cannot deny the quality of Heemann's work after the Hirschers split apart in 1991. These CDs are ridiculously out of print nowadays, and if there's one thing I hate it's eBay people driving up prices! I present his first three full-length releases, the third seems like outtakes from the second if you look at the track titles.

Invisible Barrier (Extreme Records, 1993)
Part 1
Part 2

Aftersolstice (Barooni, 1994)

Days Of The Eclipse (Barooni, 1997)

2007-09-03T18:28:00.000-07:00

UFO Or Die EP and Japan Bashing Vol. 1

There was a lot of interest in the Boredoms tracks I reupped, so I thought I'd put up these two 7" EP rarities from the earlier days of Japanoise.

First up is Eye's UFO Or Die project, which has been through several incarnations. This is the spazziest most early-Boredoms sounding version of the band, who for all I know are still active.

Next up is the first 7" in Public Bath's "Japan Bashing" series, a winner featuring the Boredoms and three side projects (Omoide Hatoba, Hanadensha, and UFO Or Die). I'll probably post Volume 3 (with Hijo Kaidan , Masonna, Solmania, and Hanatarash) sometime soon. Volume 2 was disappointing and I sold it long ago, sorry!

UOD S/T 1st EP
JAPAN BASHING 1

2007-08-26T14:45:00.000-07:00

Schlafengarten - Narcotica and Spring Cleaning

Somebody requested some of this guy's stuff in the comments over at The Thing On The Doorstep, and I am happy to oblige! Schlafengarten was an associate of the Ladd-Frith camp and from California, that's about all I know. These tapes are from the late 80's. First up is the one on Audiofile that was requested, the excellent Narcotica. Then we have another release, Spring Cleaning, on the heavyweight Sound Of Pig label. Both are around 30 minutes and are great examples of lost music from the cassette-culture era.

Narcotica

Spring Cleaning

Also, the rest of the files that I am keeping active have been reupped:

Legendary Pink Dots - Prayer for Aradia CD
Cyrnai - To Subtle-Drive CASS
Legendary Pink Dots - Chemical Playschool 3/4 2xCASS
Sun City Girls - Live 1993
Crawling With Tarts - Bled Es Siba (tape 2) CASS
Legendary Pink Dots/Attrition - Terminal Kaleidoscope Live CASS
Sue Ann Harkey - I Tell You Everything, Just Not Out Loud CASS
Culturcide - Tacky Souveniers Of Pre-Revolutionary America CD
Attrition - Onslaught CASS
Einsturzende Neubauten - Stahlmusik LP

Enjoy!

2007-08-18T12:13:00.000-07:00

Next up is my favorite Lemon Kittens record, the last album they made. Released on the Illuminated label with the unwieldy title of Whosoever Bites The Hand That Feeds Them Sooner Or Later Must Meet... The Big Dentist.

But I usually just call it THE BIG DENTIST.

UPDATE: Removed for the time being, sorry. Hope it gets reissued soon!

I have also reupped the following:
Boredoms - acetates and rarities
SPK - Last Attempt At Paradise CASS
Lustmord - Lustmordekay CASS
Nurse With Wound - Lumbs Sister LP
Nurse With Wound/Hafler Trio - Hit Again CASS
Amor Fati - III CASS
Flipper - 1982 Demos
The Cravats - In Toytown LP
Sun City Girls - Tibetan Jazz 666 CASS
Pussy Galore - Exile On Main Street CASS
Crawling With Tarts - Bled Es Siba CASS (tape 1)
3 Teens Kill 4 - No Motive EP
Legendary Pink Dots - Chemical Playschool 1&2 2xCASS
Legendary Pink Dots - Kleine Kreig CASS

Enjoy!

2007-08-12T21:20:00.000-07:00

Lemon Kittens - Spoonfed & Writhing

Sometime in the early 90's I found this single at a record convention for five bucks!!! Even then it was worth eight times that. I eventually sold that copy, but bought the CD reissue when it came out a few years later. The reissue has three extra tracks, but I no longer have my copy and can't find the tracklisting, so if anybody knows those titles please leave a comment.

YES I LOVE THE LEMON KITTENS

Hope this CD gets reissued someday!

UPDATE: This has been re-upped with the correct track titles, thanks.

2007-07-29T13:34:00.000-07:00

Konstruktivits/N.K.V.D./V.D.O.

While I'm patiently waiting for some nice blogger to post a good rip of the 3rd Konstruktivits album (Black September), I thought I'd throw up this interesting anomaly of a tape. Released in 1989, but consisting of archival material from Konstruktivits, V.D.O., and N.K.V.D. circa 1981-82. Recommended for fans of the first two Konstruktivits records.

This is a 90 minute tape, split into two parts:

N.K.V.D. Compilation side A

N.K.V.D. Compilation side B

2007-07-27T16:32:00.000-07:00

OK, that was a fast request...

Here you go:

PGR - Silence LP (256k, no skips)

The first half of side one is stunningly great, again.

2007-07-27T12:17:00.000-07:00

PGR - The Flickering Of Sowing Time

There were several records from this excellent and enigmatic group posted elsewhere, but I have not yet seen a post of their 2nd album. I have a copy, but I had to rebuy it after inexplicably losing my first original sometime in the mid 90's. This newer copy of mine has a lot more surface noise on Side 1 than I would prefer, but I will offer it anyway and encourage somebody else out there to post a better rip on their blog (or in the comments).

I want to note that this is one of my favorite records of the era. Much more varied than any other PGR album, with two tracks that actually approach song forms. But the best moment for me is the title track, an evocative blend of environment and studio. One of the finest things that RRR put out in my opinion.

The Flickering Of Sowing Time LP

In that same vein, the Mutantsounds post of the 1st PGR record, Silence, has a skip at 6:20 or so. Would anybody like my rip of a cleaner copy?

2007-07-22T15:55:00.001-07:00

Diamanda Galas - Faust Eros Tod LP

I'm planning on posting more for a while, so stay tuned for a run of new stuff here. Next up is this excellent live LP from the formidable Diamanda Galas. The first side is the gem here, live and unadorned vocal spew. The flip, a live verson of "Litanies Of Satan", is slightly bogged down by the obvious backing tapes. Nonetheless, a rare and beautiful document of this fantastic talent around the time of her self-titled LP for the Metalanguage label (i.e. 1983-84).

Faust Eros Tod

Ms. Galas has a lot of product available, buy some!

2007-07-21T12:55:00.000-07:00

I posted a Cyrnai cassette earlier, and Mutantsounds posted her "Charred Blossoms" EP, so I thought I'd throw up this even earlier cassette. Murky, less rhythmic, and possessed of a uniquely dark atmosphere. Another great tape from the Ladd-Frith label, which I will be revisiting soon. More info about Cyrnai HERE. Unfortunately, no track titles this time.

Parts Of The Insomniac Wheel

2007-07-06T14:09:00.000-07:00

Well, here I am! I was gone for a while but have returned to bring you more lovely tape releases, obscure albums, and who knows what else!

To get things started here is another Crawling With Tarts tape. Very different from the Bled Es Siba set, some of these even qualify as songs. Again, this will come as a shock to those who have only heard the Operas records or similar conceptual fare.

Enjoy and thanks for all the comments while I was gone!

The Tudor Tapes (C30)

UPDATE: reupped by request

2007-03-24T01:00:00.000-07:00

I can't resist... here's one more. An early tape from Einsturzende Neubauten, recently bootlegged on LP. Burned directly from LP version.

Stahlversion

Back in late June!

2007-03-22T14:18:00.000-07:00

One more post before I take a break, this is a rare early tape from Attrition on the Third Mind label (TMT 06). More like a cassette EP, really. Burned to CD from the original tape, converted in LAME.

Attrition - Onslaught

Perhaps I will get around to one more, but I doubt it... I'll be back at the end of June!

2007-03-21T23:31:00.000-07:00

Another super rare cassette only release, this time from Viennese Aktionist and composer Hermann Nitsch. Although his large-scale "actions" and symphonic work have been fairly well documented, his solo pieces are less available. As far as solo harmonium (he recorded a ton of tapes in the 80's) I think the "Harmoniumwerk" series is probably out of print like the rest of the Cortical Foundation stuff. Perhaps I will up that in a few months. Today I bring you Nitsch on pipe organ, massive and relentless. The only other solo organ release of his that I know of is the Komposition Fuer Orgel CD from circa 2000.

This is a double C60 tape put out in 1987 by the Hundertmark gallery imprint in a limited, signed edition of 200 copies. Burned to a standalone CD burner from original copies, transferred to MP3 via LAME in iTunes. Some tracks are split where there were long pauses.

UPDATE: Since the files got taken down these tapes have become available at Mutantsounds, so I will not bother reupping them.

2007-03-21T11:47:00.000-07:00

If you've never heard this infamous Culturcide album, well... It's basically a noisy karaoke version of 80's hit songs that are given new lyrics. Thankfully, these versions are the ones I end up having in my head. The lyrics really make the project, they are funny and scathingly relevant. This ZIP file is the Tacky Souveniers Of Pre-revolutionary America album from 1987. Enjoy!

Culturcide

P.S. I am posting a lot because I am leaving the country for three months and will not be updating/uploading during that time. I will moderate comments, though!

2007-03-20T17:02:00.001-07:00

And another new post here... Sue Ann Harkey was part of the squatting scene of New York's Lower East Side during the 80's, she is also featured in the Cassette Mythos book on cassette culture. She released at least two tapes and one album. The LP is now available on CD, I just checked Amazon! I highly recommend it.

Her music is similar in some respects to gamelan music or ragas, she plays koto and other unusual instruments. There is a very mature political sensibility. She did a lot of collage art for anarchist magazines back in the day, and still does art for a living today in Seattle. Here's her current web site.

This is her first tape that I know of, called I Tell You Everything, Just Not Out Loud. I used to have the track titles and liner notes for this, but I have misplaced them. Any info would be welcome.

Sue Ann Harkey

2007-03-20T17:02:00.000-07:00

A quick one here, another Legendary Pink Dots related post. This is a split tape they did with Attrition on the ill-fated Ding Dong label. Live recordings from both bands, documenting a tour they did together in 1984.

The Terminal Kaleidoscope

2007-03-11T22:43:00.000-07:00

Crawling With Tarts - Bled Es Siba (tape 2)

Here is the second part of the Crawling With Tarts tape Bled Es Siba. Quite different than the first part, there are even vocals on one track! Again, this is highly recommended. Thanks to Lisa Emily for mailing me WAV files of these tracks!

Bled Es Siba Tape 2 side a

Bled Es Siba Tape 2 side b

2007-02-26T21:21:00.000-08:00

In light of Charles Gocher's untimely passing, here is a live set from the Sun City Girls. Info says San Francisco 1993 and that sounds about right, I haven't ID'd all of these tracks yet but one is a stellar cover of the Thinking Fellers Union Local 282's song "Hive".

May your spirit continue its hellacious ways, CG.

SCG Live 1993

2007-02-19T10:46:00.000-08:00

Legendary Pink Dots - Chemical Playschool 3/4

For people who might have missed this, here are two more early Legendary Pink Dots tapes... this is my very favorite LPD release! Highly recommended!

Chemical Playschool 3/4 was originally a double 90-minute tape, just like 1/2. Released in 1983, the tapes represent a real creative high point for the Dots. When it was reissued on CD (in the mid-90's) one track was left off and others were edited, this version restores over 20 minutes of music! Tracks were taken from the CD where possible, otherwise they are from the original tapes.

Here's Volume 3 side a

Volume 3 side b

and Volume 4 side a

Volume 4 side b

all links fixed (I hope) as of 10/31/10

2007-02-13T10:31:00.000-08:00

Cyrnai was in the San Francisco punk band Crucifix, and later played in the decidedly post-punk Trial. In the mid-80's she released a string of fascinating tapes and one EP. Here is the second tape, much more rhythmic than the first one (which will be coming soon, along with more Crawling With Tarts).

My apologies for such a delay between posts, I have been busy in the real world.

Cyrnai - To Subtle-Drive cassette

2006-12-26T14:45:00.000-08:00

The Legendary Pink Dots, Part 4: Prayer For Aradia

This tape came out in 1982, it was reissued on CD sometime in the mid-90's. I have included the one previously unreleased bonus track but left off the Chemical Playschool tracks that were also added to the reissue... they are on the tapes I upped earlier. This CD has been out of print for a while, hope the Pink Dots reissue it soon.

Prayer For Aradia

2006-12-18T11:57:00.000-08:00

The Legendary Pink Dots, Part 3:

The Kleine Krieg tape was yet another 90-minute outing for the Dots, also released in 1981. It shares some songs with the Chemical Playschool tapes below, but usually they are in new versions.

KK

2006-12-17T12:32:00.000-08:00

The Legendary Pink Dots, Part 2:

Chemical Playschool #2 (90 minute tape, 1981)

Side A

Side B

This is a real high point of early LPD work... recommended. Again, only a very small bit of this has ever made it to CD.

2006-12-16T21:39:00.000-08:00

The Legendary Pink Dots, Part 1.

I'm going to do a series of rare Pink Dots tapes for ya, in conjunction with work I'm doing elsewhere.

First up is the double 90-minute tape Chemical Playschool #1/#2. Conceived of as a "best of" for their first year together, most of this has never been on CD. Here's the first tape, C.P. #1:

Side A

Side B

I'll be uploading the second one tomorrow, then three more out-of-print tapes!

2006-12-04T22:41:00.000-08:00

3 Teens Kill 4 were a New York City band from the early 80's. Loosely grouped in the post punk and/or no wave scene, their EP was requested somewhere else in a comments section, I forget where. I thought I'd rip my copy and post it.

Wikipedia says, in a brief entry on the band, that "They are most notable for featuring David Wojnarowicz, a famous artist, as a member." That seems unfair to me, the record is fairly good on its own.

My copy of this mini LP (or EP, or whatever) is on the original Point Blank label. There was also a reissue on the French label Invitation Au Suicide.

"Hut" and "Bean Song" are listed as one track on the albun, I kept it that way.

3 Teens Kill 4 - No Motive

2006-11-29T16:19:00.000-08:00

Crawling With Tarts - Bled Es Siba (Part One)

Michael Gendreau and Suzanne Dycus-Gendreau have been making music as Crawling With Tarts since sometime in the mid-80's. They were a big part of the "Cassette Culture" scene, and their tapes from that era really stand out. Later on in the 90's they turned into more of a Mills College academic style of music, putting out CD's of cutup opera 78's and double singles of motor sounds. Not really that exciting compared to this stuff.

I am giving you my favorite tape here, less song oriented than some of the others that I will post later. This is the first tape in a double set, unfortunately I do not have the second one. Long, utterly alien tracks that sound like being inside of some creepy hive of insects. Truly unique and highly recommended.

Side 1

Side 2

(reupped on 3/1/11)

2006-11-24T16:37:00.000-08:00

Pussy Galore - Exile On Main Street

This tape was supposedly a response to Sonic Youth's musings about recording a cover version of The Beatles' "White Album". Circa 1987, cassette only. An abridged version was released on LP but I can't tell whether or not it's a bootleg even though I own a copy. This version is complete, except perhaps for a bit at the end (even I can't tell), and is a copy of an original tape. Encoded via LAME just for you, dear listener.

Next up we will be getting back to our roots with some rare tapes by Crawling With Tarts, much more interesting than their more recent output!

2006-11-01T11:56:00.000-08:00

The Cravats - In Toytown

Some newer blogs have been putting up various neat-o obscurities from the mighty Cravats, aka The Babymen, aka DCL Locomotive, aka The Very Things. Thanks to all of you!

Here is the first Cravats LP, released on Small Wonder Records around 1980. An anthology reissue is forthcoming on Overground Records, buy it!

2006-10-14T10:56:00.000-07:00

Sun City Girls - Tibetan Jazz 666

This hasn't been reissued yet in Eclipse Records' series of LP versions of the seemingly endless series of tapes this band put out in the 80's. I am eagerly awaiting further installments, perhaps you are too. Here's a little something to fill the time. Not from an original, I got this from the net. Still, it has a good bitrate. Enjoy!

2006-09-25T19:46:00.000-07:00

Flipper - 1982 Demos

There has been some talk about these lately, given the fact that almost none of Flipper's recordings are in print. These have never officially come out, but have apparantly been released as a double CD bootleg. I would hate for y'all to have to spend money on something that should be free, so here you go...

Part 1
Part 2

2006-09-18T21:42:00.000-07:00

Amor Fati aka Amaury Perez was an intriguing underground figure of the 80's who had a simple 4-track basement approach to recording long before some 90's zine came up with the term "lo-fi". His enigmatic releases in plain white covers with paste-on black & white covers and inserts mixed Nitzchean philospohy, noise, classical music, and post-punk to an amazing degree.

He has a new CD and a current website HERE. I highly recommend downloading the MP3 of "Rock And Roll: Economics 101" from his website, a personal favorite.

I'm going to start off with one of several cassettes he released. This, his third release after a 7" EP and a tape, is appropriately entitled Amor Fati III.

As always, please support the artist if you can.

2006-09-09T16:17:00.000-07:00

Nurse With Wound, Part 2: Lumbs Sister LP

Breaking with tradition here and giving y'all a rare NWW LP. This was part of a 3LP box set along with Sol Invictus and Current 93. The C93 record has been reissued as the Horsey CD, but the NWW tracks are still out of print. Don't know about the Sol Invictus. On the Cerne label, which I think was from Germany.

NWW - Lumbs Sister

Liner notes:

Some of the music from the film by Chris Wallis

Lumbs little sister
was as much willow and twig
as he was oak root
she was as supple
as he was stiff
and could bring the dead back to life
as easily as she could plait her hair
she kept the pieces
of his wooden heart
in the same place
she kept the day and night
each evening she goes to bathe
in the dark green spring
the dust she washes off
becomes the spark
in the eye of the child
the surge in the veins of the lover
the speck of hope
in the eyes of the dying
she dissolves arrives
in the softness of time
and inscribes their history in the ashes of hate
she weaves
the rope that guides the blind
from nothing to something

music S. Stapleton
painting Om
dedicated to Tabatha Raspberry & Grizzle

2006-09-05T13:17:00.000-07:00

Back in the day, Lustmord recorded for Sterile Records, Third Mind, and other noisy 80's labels. It took them a while to develop their "dark ambient" schtick and the early recordings are much more varied. Dark Vinyl reissued their debut LP on a CD with some bonus material a while back, but this tape (on Sterile, if I recall correctly) has never been reissued to my knowledge. I can barely find info about it on the web, but I did find out that it was released in 1983. This is a dub of a friend's original copy, burned to CD on a standalone player and then ripped to MP3 with LAME (like almost all of what I will offer here - it takes longer, but is worth it).

I don't have the track titles, if somebody knows them please leave info in the comments.

Lustmord - Lustmordekay cassette

UPDATE: Here is a link to the cover art and release info (it was indeed a Sterile release).

2006-08-27T21:52:00.000-07:00

SPK's "Last Attempt At Paradise" cassette is one of several tapes documenting the early 80's live version of this band. Released by the Lawrence, Kansas label Fresh Sounds.

SPK - The Last Attempt At Paradise

here is more information on the release, including liner notes.

2006-08-14T13:47:00.000-07:00

Well, the SPK is ripped and ready to go, but in the meantime I threw up these Liz Phair tapes for some other folks.

The Girlysound demos are somewhat legendary, and rightfully so. There are a number of great songs that never made it to LP, and many early version of songs from her first two albums.

(link no longer active)

2006-07-30T22:44:00.000-07:00

Too many amazing blogs. Once again I am inspired to up a bunch of stuff. I did this back in the day of single MP3 blogs, but it's exploding again.

My focus on this blog will be the cassette culture of the 80's and 90's. My first full-length post will be SPK's The Last Attempt At Paradise live tape.

For starters: here are some rare Boredoms tracks...

1. Car ABC
2. Surfing Jah
3. I Am Johnny Rotten

These three tracks are from an acetate recording given to the Happy Flowers back in the late 80's.

BOREDOMS ACETATES

And in response to a request, here are the complete Boretronix tapes, all three of them. Enjoy!

BORETRONIX
BORETRONIX 2
BORETRONIX 3