JULIO IGLESIAS

 

You know him as the guy who did the duet with WILLIE NELSON, but Julio's career started more than a decade before he moved from Spain to Miami. Dude had hits in German, Portuguese, German and Italian in addition to crooning in English and his native Spanish. 1980's Hey! might be his pinnacle of swinging Spnish pop - there are some syrupy sweet crooners and some tracks that should have been on Love Boat or Fantasy Island montage segments. This tape is appropriate damaged (read: 'well loved') and some of the cuts present as extra weird or slightly tweaked, but I feel like this is a come-up when you're turning songs like "Morrinas" into cavernous burners. Look, there's a reason why Iglesias is a household name, and Hey! is a good reminder that it's not just about the radio hits. 

HEY!

ASSAULT

 

More under the radar Central (California) Coast hardcore from the late '80s. The OG hardcores had moved on (read: 'matured') and there were droves of teenagers who had grown up on the shit and were trying to emulate the sounds that lit a fire under their asses when they were in their early teens. Meanwhile those OGs were making How We Rock or exploring funkmetalpunk or some shit. '90s DIY experimentation hadn't grown roots yet, and there was this sweet spot where you had punk smoking ripping '80s hardcore records in a time when the general trend setters had stopped caring about ripping '80s hardcore. Listen to "Never Ending Greed" and "Animal Rights" here - shit is like Hear Nothing.... and NOTA in a blender and I can't believe it hasn't been unearthed and repackaged for modern consumption and reverence. As far as I can tell, there's only one vinyl offering from ASSAULT, but the three tapes currently in my possession (on loan) are fucking burners....this one might be the best. 

ASSAULT

HARSH R

 

Channel late '80s dance club angst in the modern era and you're going to get... HARSH R. God/s this recording is simply beautiful - I could dissect this shit (with a lot of words), but it would really just be me using a lot of words to say the obvious. Physical World is the embodiment of the obvious, and sinister primitive industrial sounds that are (obviously) critical to our....well, these sounds are critical. That should be all that you need. 

PHYSICAL WORLD

MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL

 

It's really cool (for me) to revisit 'old' things - to revisit things that were created in a different time and consume them with the perspective that only time can provide. And with that perspective, this episode of MRR Radio that was broadcast thirty years ago today resonates with such incredible force that it makes me pause for a moment......

I was living in San Francisco and active in the San Francisco DIY punk scene starting around 1995. I always felt 'outside' in some way (if nothing else, I was new and poking around the perimeter of a scene that was well established long before I was even remotely aware), but by the end of the decade I certainly felt like I had my place. When I pulled this MRR tape out of the box though....I realized how completely outside of everything I was (then and now), and I knew before I popped this tape in the deck that this was likely going to be more about a person than an institution. The 717th episode of Maximum Rocknroll Radio was DJed and curated by Ken Prank, a Bay Area transplant from originally from Alabama who was quietly in the process of changing the face of USDIY hardcore when he put this show together, and just a quick look at the playlist will tell you that he knew exactly what the fuck was up years before anyone else did. URANUS, STATE OF FEAR, SPAZZ, POISON COLA, FRIGÖRIA, LIP CREAM, POWER OF IDEA, NEKHEI NAATZA, THE GAIA, OUT OF TOUCH, SUPPRESSION, DISKONTO, SLIGHT SLAPPERS, INSANE YOUTH, VIOLENT HEADACHE, INTEGRITY....you know most these bands, several are are more or less household names now, and some were the standard bearers for late-decade hardcore, but a collection like this at the start of 1996? Dude. Ken put this shit into the world while he was booking studio time for HIS HERO IS GONE to record the EP that completely changed the game....he knew what the fukk was up before the rest of us and has remained steadfast in his commitment to the real shit for the three decades since. Drop a MAKERS track and some unknown Latvian hardcore  (you ever heard of VOMNOSONOLOPPUS, punk?) in between SUPPRESSION and SPAZZ is really just casually letting everyone know you're a genius. 

MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL #717

Of course this post is all about the importance and the reach of MRR as an institution, but it was the people that made the shit important. 

Still is. Thanks. 

SUPERCHARGER

 

This one was just tacked onto the back end of some other tape that had nothing to do with SUPERCHARGER and/or '90s Bay Area garage punk. Some completely different thing clearly documented by someone who knew what was up, and three (plus) decades later it serves as a reminder to me (and you) how fukkn tuff early '90s garage punk was. For no logical reason whatsoever I associate the subgenre (and era) with Austin, Texas (actually, there is a very logical reason and it's the MOTARDS / FUCKEMOS split), but listen to "Lost Cause" and/or "Sooprize Package For Mr. Mineo" and know that the greater Bay Area knew what the fuck was up with this shit. Damn, it was probably SUPERCHARGER (and MUMMIES) that made Tim turn The Bible towards the garage shit and if that's the case....? Fuck man, fair enough. "San Bruno" is maybe the most gloriously bleak punk track I have ever heard, and Reatard acolytes would be well advised to take notes across the board. For whatever reason this encouraged me to listen to THE DONNAS...for that I am grateful. 

SUPERCHARGER

SPEEDKILL // BERBAHAYA

 

Ten minutes of churning, in your face thrash that....man, the shit just fukkn grooves. The first SPEEDKILL cut has serious NUNCHAKU vibes and settles into something akin to the first HAUNTED record, while the BERBAHAYA tracks are full throttle cruising grind/thrash. There's nothing fancy here - they get in, they destroy, they get out. Not sure what else you could possibly want. 

OPIUM PEMBUS MORAL CANDU NADA NERAKA

MISTER BARCLAY 505

 

Look....if you're paying attention at all, then it's very difficult to feel normal right now. It's very difficult to imagine a return to anything even close to normal, or how challenging the path to that return might be. Feeling helpless is fine; feeling helpless is normal. So while you're feeling helpless, here are some innocent lo-fi home recordings from a relatively nice looking fellow from Albuquerque. When I got this tape, it kinda felt like everything was more or less okay (even if it wasn't). So it's kinda pleasant to take a minute and listen to the sounds of DAVID ISAAC BARCLAY now and think about that time and rage cry for a bit before returning to the bitter and very very real knowledge that even if things do return to a kind of normal....you won't be alive to see it. FUCK DHS. FUCK ICE. FUCK MAGA. 

ULTRA LO-FI DEMO

WARTZ

 

I frequently say that I'm at a loss for words and then say a lot of words and I fear I am about to do the same thing again but.....I mean, how else can you approach WARTZ? Manic and maniacal madness that owes equal dents to F.U.S and early 2010s NWI punk and primitive UK82 hardcore....six songs in seven minutes. and every second is perfect. 

WARTZ

1-800-REMIXES

 

If you weren't alive when (most) these songs were unavoidable then mayhaps you can't really grasp what a comfortable listen this is. I was there though - I was high school kid with a weekend job as a small town commercial radio DJ and I heard damn near every one of these tracks countless times. I didn't hear them like this though, and there's a magic in this era-appropriate collection. Until today, I never knew that MC HAMMER name dropped Oaktown in "U Can't Touch This" (which is followed by DIGITAL UNDERGROUND and EN VOGUE, two more outfits that helped put the East Bay on the mainstream map around the same time ECONOCHRIST moved out from Arkansas), and until today I never knew that JANET JACKSON collaborated with HEAVY D on a remix of "Alright." And Canada's JANE CHILD dropped one of the most essential freestyle bangers ever with "I Don't Wanna Fall In Love" and she's basically the arctic Sheila E or some shit. Basically, I learned a lot of things today. MICHEL'LE, ROB BASE, JOHNNY GIL round out a remix tape that was hopefully distributed out of the trunk of a stolen Camry...and could have provided the soundtrack for every episode of In Living Color. 

1-800-REMIXES VOL.1

If anyone has a line on subsequent volumes....you know where to find me. 

KAKERLAK

 

Twenty minutes of brutal and disorienting harsh noise wall punctuated by a few subtle respites. Actually....there are no respites.
This shit is just sonic brutality.
Kinda like an ocean crashing into your face.
I could say so many more things, but....just listen.
Loudly.

THIRST, HUNGRY, SEX & SAFETY

Yes...Play at High Volume.

THE EXPLOITED

 

Starter bands are a weird animal - the cool kids seem to steer clear of them (publicly), but please will someone try to convince me that SHITLICKERS hit harder than the first three (or six) EXPLOITED records? Ask me which one I "like" more and I'll give you an answer, but I will also put "Rival Leaders" up against anything you have to offer, and I'll die on that fukkn hill. "Warsystem" is cool and perfect and everything (of course) but if you want to tell me that it's objectively better than "Psycho" or the title track here....well, that's gonna be a discussion. DIY punk and hardcore rules, straight up and no question - but there's a reason why starter bands are "Starter Bands," you know? It's where you start. Group Sex and In God We Trust, Inc and Hear Nothing... and Damaged and Zen Arcade are essential, that's why there are hundreds of thousands of copies pressed and you can find them in any reputable shop. Well, perhaps the most single genre defining UK82 record was released by THE EXPLOITED....in 1983. And you should al know every note of eery song. Fuck me this shit is so good. 

LET'S START A WAR...SAID MAGGIE ONE DAY

**************************************************
I've only seen THE EXPLOITED once - and it was in an environment that was perfect for a complete shit show experience that would completely crush all expectation and adulation. 

They were fucking untouchable. 

PRAXIS // ALTERCADOS

 

I hope it never seems like I'm buried in or obsessed with nostalgia here - I love sounds. Period. I have connections with a lot of sounds and some sounds are important to me for different reasons than other sounds are important to me...but I get a charge out of listening to something that meant something for someone else to create. I always have, I still do, and I hope that I always will.  That said....this split makes me feel nostalgic, and that's okay. Two ripping political fastcore bands from Chile circa 2000. That's it y'all, that should be all you need. ALTERCADOS give serious LIFES HALT vibes while PRAXIS land closer to what we called "melodic hardcore" at the time, and there are moments where I feel like I'm listening to a subgenre of Japanese punk that I can't quite put my finger on*...plus the lead guitar is out of fukkn control. I like 'em both, but the ALTERCADOS side is legit next level shit. So I heard it for the first time and I thought of shit from a different era-  but this is from a different era and I'm hearing it for the first time. Fukk - what if this split is actually just a time machine?

LA MAQUINARIA DEL DESCONTENTO

* Yes, I fully realize how stupid it is to compare something to a "subgenre of Japanese punk that I can't quite put my finger on." Sorry. 

LUCEMORTIS

 

A few weeks ago I (we) went to a metal show and LUCEMORTIS was playing as we walked in. Shit was putrid. Chaotic. Manic. Brutal. Messy. It was great. Make up and chalices and incense and all that shit. It was great. Later, we were watching this other band set up. I don't remember the band's name, I just remember that these fools (they were children) were concentrating on affixing their cloaks and coordinating a simulated (theatrical) sexual assault instead of making sure their guitar amps worked. Then they started playing and it was admittedly pretty cool, but I kept thinking about LUCEMORTIS. Those kids? It just felt calculated and intentional - it didn't seem natural. But LUCEMORTIS? Shit, it was as if these dudes had been chilling in their cousin's living room doing bong hits and talking about Satan and shit when someone was like "bro - we have a gig" and they grabbed the inverted cross candle holder (with chains) that was already set up in the living room (with chains on it) and stumbled down the corner to lay waste to some dive bar. These dudes just felt real, you know? You can't quantify it, and you can't put a finger on it - but in the world of (modern/underground) metal, LUCEMORTIS just hit/s different. 

HELLUCINATIONS OF INFERNAL PSYCHOSIS

HEAVY TEMPLE

 

It's hard for me to describe which (and how many) nerves this one struck a nerve when I listened the first time, but I can assure you that that nerve count has only increased with subsequent blasts. IDES OF GEMENI, MOTÖRHEAD, LOST GOAT, PENTAGRAM, SLEEP - it's all here...and there's more. But the "more" is HEAVY TEMPLE. Which is to say that this band deserves to be classified and categorized with those aforementioned references because.....I don't know man, I'm just a middle aged dude with an opinion. And in my opinin, this HEAVY TEMPLE is really fukkn good and the rest of their shit is really good too.  

CHASSIT

WEST COAST MENNONITE CHAMBER CHOIR

 
Remember in the '80s  (....maybe '90s?) when some dark house/techno maniacs discovered Gregorian chants? I feel like it kinda happened around the same time as that one ENYA conquered the Western World, but maybe I've got that all mixed up. Anyway, someone should start fucking with chamber choir remixes and I suggest they start with Mennonite chamber choirs. Not surprisingly, this tape doesn't sound shit-all like those Gregorian chants or ENYA, I'm just saying there's an opportunity here for...someone. 

SONGS OF EARTH, ECHOES OF HEAVEN

=======

MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL PRESENTS...

I remember seeing this one in shops when I moved to SF in '95, but for whatever reason I remember thinking it was too......too something. Maybe it was because MRR was The Institution and we felt like we were doing The Real Punk Shit (honestly, we were just two years removed from booking a tour using contacts pulled from microfiche at the college library so we kinda had a point), but really it was probably because I didn't know shit. Looking back though, what an incredible fukkn comp - DEAD SILENCE, CRINGER, NAUSEA, LIBIDO BOYZ, THE DETONATORS, SCREECHING WEASEL (when Ben was just a shit stirrer and had not yet turned into a complete shit), JAWBOX...you get the drill. Basically this was glimpse of the various '90s USDIY punk scenes n 1989, which is a polite way of saying that Tim Yo knew exactly what the fuck he was doing. And even though I never met the man face-to-face, I owe him more than I could possibly type. 

THEY DON'T GET PAID

THEY DON'T GET LAID

BUT BOY DO THEY WORK HARD!

========

In other news - REALISTIC in Oakland this evening with some cool bands I'll be seeing for the first time:

PRE-MARITAL SEX

 

Seriously punks, the things you find if you keep your ears/eyes/hearts open will amaze you. As far as I can tell, PRE MARITAL SEX started somewhere around Santa Barbara around 1990 and may or may not have relocated to the Bay Area. Also I might be wrong. Where and whenever they were from, they created a maniacal sex-positive cacophony that was way ahead of its time - California punk with classic UK anarcho energy and early decade USDIY ethos and approach creates some kind of AGENT ORANGE vs. SPITBOY vs. X-RAY SPEX amalgamation and I'm not really sure what's happening but I know it probably pissed off a lot of surfer dude-bros three decades and I know I want more. Fortunately, the kid who scored this demo (and let me borrow it so I could share it with you) copped two other demos....you're gonna get those too. I've said it (many times) before., but I'll say it again now: "You're Welcome." 

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

BLOODY MARYS // BLOOD SISTERS

DISIPLINE

 

Brilliant and brilliantly anthemic Boston punk with serious MISFITS energy.....except DISIPLINE is on an entirely different mission. From "Get Pegged (If You Want To)" to "Consent" to the title track and (far) beyond, these punks make sex and gratification political. Because it fucking is. 

SEXUAL HEATHEN

==========

I had to edit this post for the Google because there was a butt and/or a weiner in the cover art. 

That shit is bizarre - you consider all of the shit the world today and it's a ding-dong and/or buttcrack that pushes you over the edge....? Sorry kids, the internet that brings us joy will surely be the death of us. 

GERY BURTON // CHICK COREA

 

You got a guy playing a piano and you've got a guy playing a vibraphone thing.....and they're both generally considered to be pretty good at what they do. They made this record called Duet back in 1979 and a pretty famous record label made a cassette version and I rescued it from a thrift store in the Inland Empire (which is honestly a weird thing to call a place when it's not an actual Empire and it's like 50 miles from the Coast). So here you go. 

DUET

DAS DRIP

 

FFO: early '10s NWI punk, early '80s Italian hardcore, late '00s East LA punk, Deluxe Bias. 

I figure that should be enough. 

There are (were) three drips - Sorry State did the second drip, this was the first drip. 

=======================

DAS DRIP

TOTAL DAMAGE

 

It feels good (sometimes) to hear something new (to you) that feels like things you already know. I had never heard Jakarta's TOTAL DAMAGE before a couple of weeks ago, but I knew the sounds - throaty, heavy hardcore with stadium crust undertones, liberal grind parts and a few INTEGRITY ghosts lurking in their collective closet - and now I know the band. Struggle For Existence was released in 2018 but the band started more than twenty years earlier, among the first wave of DIY hardcore from Indonesia. They've grown - and now I'm after a copy of 200's Police Racist Action because I want to hear how this shit started. 

STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE

Also there are parts that remind me of Polish crust (think HOMOMILITIA) and the spoken word piano driven interludes are sick and also the tape itself is kinda wrecked so the sound quality is a bit in-and-out in places. You get what you pay for though, and I haven't seen any contributions in a while (or ever). You kids keep it that way, and I'll keep it this way.