LOWRIDER

Another deadly collection of old school street jams from Lowrider Magazine. Heavier on the hip-hop this time, the early '90s explosion that combined street soul, classic rap and the adoption of the sound/s by different subcultures creating divergent subgenres under the same umbrella. HASHIM, QUE SA, JEAN KNIGHT (the inclusion of "Mr. Big Stuff" is an anchor point for the rest of the mix), KID FROST, HISPANIC MC's and a timeless slow jam from THE FUZZ that belongs on every Barrio Music, East Side Story and Lowrider compilation - just so every listener is reminded where the roots are. 

LOWRIDER SOUNDTRACK VOLUME 4

KILLED BY GERD

 

It's Friday, so here's another collection of songs from bands that I had never heard of before I popped Killed By Gerd in the deck for the first time a few weeks ago. Death rock (PELTERAS), new wave/college alt (THE NORTHPALM, MALARIE), driving shoegaze (DENIAL), dreamy twee/indie new wave (CLOSURE), tracks that sound like a bridge between JOY DIVISION and INTERPOL (LELAKIDIVJVNGTANDVK, THE PORNO), angular post punk (MEGATRVTH, HIGHWAY)...you get the general idea. Most of these tracks would be just as at home on a mix of late '80s college rock with DINOSAUR and MBV or a collection anchored by WAX IDOLS and DIIV. According to the sub/title, this is the first volume in a series - where are the others?!?!

KILLED BY GERD VOL #1
A Mixtapes Bootleg Series

WALK SOFTLY

 

All of the praise I showered on last Friday's Astral Maps collection apply here as well. Two dozen gorgeous slabs of unheralded country music from the likes of JIMMY PATTON, CHESTER KNIGHT, RONNIE THARP, FIFI QUEEN, WILLA RISP, TIDE CARTWRIGHT and so many more your head will spin. Choicest cuts are from ALLEN R. ADAMS and an under the radar slammer from JOHNNY PAYCHECK, but there's not a singe clunker in the bunch. All praise to the mysterious folks at Little Axe in Portland for constantly striving to remind you how much you don't know...

WALK SOFLTY

ASTRAL MAPS

 

I posted the first Astral Maps volume almost a decade ago and I highly recommend uninitiated visitors visit that collection as soon as their done with this one (or vice versa). Now as then, the title manages to say it all without letting on how much gold it contains. Aside from JERRY JEFF WALKER (who closes the mix with the brilliant "Shell Game") and NICO (who most wouldn't expect on a mix like this, but of course it's perfect), these artists are going to be new to all but the most dedicated old country aficionados....which is to say that Astral Maps is a very special gift. BOOTS WALKER, RONNIE HAWKINS, JOHNNY ROBERTS, RONNIE McFARLAN, HOLY MODAL ROUNDERS, DAVID BLUE and loads more sing songs about traveling and wandering and love and loss. It's an honest collection of songs and singers that will take you to a completely different place if you let it. Listen to TOMMY FLANDERS' "Between Purple And Blue" before you do anything important today, and thank the folks at Ack Ack Ack Tapes for helping you (me) get through. 

ASTRAL MAPS Vol.2: COUNTRY ROCK '65-'75

LOWRIDER KUMBIAS

 

What a glorious re-interpretation of the classic soul and R&B jams that continue to provide the soundtrack for summer city nights and lowriders. More than just remixes, this is banger after banger turned into low and dirty cumbias by some genius who probably had an idea while stoned as shit....and followed through. "El Duque" has never sounded this fukkn cool, and I feel like anything approaching in depth description of how this tape hits me would run the risk of being interpreted as cultural appropriation. I remain on the sidelines, with the bass and volume pumped as loud as possible. 

TURBO SONIDERO: MUSIC DE BARRIO

ZULU HITS

 

The titles and cover accurately indicate contents here - a glorious collection of late '80s South African music from a few artists you may know (LADYSMITH BLACK MAMBAZO, UMOJA) and a slew of new-to-you bangers from ZIA (perfect '80s freestyle), LUCKY DUBE, INKUNZI EMDAKA, SPLASH (perhaps my favorite track on the tape), NGANE KHAMBA and heaps more. This music makes me happy in the right way - it's happy and upbeat music but it's far from empty. These sounds are full of hope, full of life, full of power. You can hear it, and you can feel it while you're hearing it.  

ZULU HITS: BLACK SOUTH AFRICAN MUSIC

PARTY JAMS 91

 

The name says it all. 

PARTY JAMS 91

The only question is whether or not you want to party.
Do you?

UNDERGROUND FROM SPILS

Another great collection of lesser known Latvian punk from the early 1990s, picking up right where Naïve Years left off. Thirty tracks from ten different bands including SEPSIS, 33-Х ЛЕТНИЙ ПОДОНОК, ORGASM FAKERS (my personal favorites on the tape), ЭВОЛЮЦИЯ КАКТУСОВ, TERMOPSIS KAPITANA GRANTA among others. A solid hour of new (to me) punk is always a treat, and it's even more delicious when it's this tasty. Easy to imagine most (or all?) of these bands sharing bills with my hoard, and even easier to image ТОРЕЦ ТОТАЛИТАРРИЗМА absolutely laying waste to a drunken warehouse crowd in some desolate not-yet-rehabilitated corner of San Francisco thirty years ago with an indescribably brilliant blurrcore track called "Я Приду Поздно, Пьяный И Не Один" - what I would give for a time (and space) machine. 

UNDERGROUND FROM SPILS 2

APLOGETIC DAWN

 

There are a few Loathed Sound Department tapes I haven't unearthed and I savor them as they (re)surface. I eagerly consumed every release I could when the label was active, each one felt like a deep dive into a world I was (almost always) unfamiliar with. Apologetic Dawn is no different - you know funk and you know soul, but ADAM GRUP's "I Got You" and 6IX will turn your shit on its ear. The hard driving groove of THE STOVALL SISTERS, the silky smooth funk of THE TEMPREES, everything about FUZZY HAWKINS. The whole damn thing - start to finish.

APOLOGETIC DAWN: Music With Movement For The Funk And Soul Deep Inside

MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL

 

Honestly, when we were doing key bumps in the Chameleon bathroom in 1996 and talking shit about the MRR elites, this is why. I'm not saying we were right, and there are some straight killers on here....but we simply didn't want catchy punk that felt safe. We didn't need ZEKE and BLINK 182 and even though ELECTRIC FRANKENSTEIN was good - who the fuck cared when you could get high as shit and see RUDIMENTS in a basement on Alabama Street? SMUGGLERS sounded like some Purple Onion shit and that was for the retired set (who were, in retrospect, probably in their 30s). The best thing about SCARED OF CHAKA was that they were on a record with WORD SALAD. Look, in retrospect a lot of this shit is fukkn great - hearing KITTY BAD ASS and DISCOUNT played on the same show makes sense, the SODS track is still a complete annihilator and LUNCHBOX hits the damn spot right now. There are couple of Italian killers (GUASTAFESTE, FUORI CONTROLLO).....but still, we weren't wrong. We wanted danger. Two years later I was a shitworker, of course. 

MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL #724

LOWRIDER

 

The third volume in Thump Records' Lowrider Soundtrack series is a master class in funk and freestyle anchored by DEBBIE DEB's "When I Hear Music," an indispensable track worth the price of admission and then some all on its own. Follow that up with "I Need A Freak" from SEXUAL HARASSMENT and TONY-O's "Drop Them Drawers" and you know this a different kind of party. There are still solid lowrider jams here (HISPANIC MCs, DAZZA, SAPADILLA) but overall this collection is way freakier and more hi-NRG mix than the first two collections. So get down to TOGETHER BROTHERS, CRAZY CLOCK MC, FREESTYLE, BABY G & TRUE FUNK POSSE and HOLLYWOOD HAMILTON and you're talking about an actual fucking party....you're also talking about a brilliant mix tape. 

LOWRIDER SOUNDTRACK VOLUME 3

WEEKEND AT GRITTY'S

 

I don't know how many times I will tell you that a well crafted and curated mix tape is a wonderful thing....but here I am telling you again today that a well crafted and curated mix tape is a wonderful thing. Weekend At Gritty's is the seventh in the Pinhole Mixtape series (the first five volumes are already here - the sixth is....well, you're gonna have to wait for Halloween or something) and the brilliance in construction is perhaps best demonstrated when the curator rolls effortlessly from NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL to JEF THE BROTHERHOOD to a cut from Return Of The Living Dead. This mix is soundtrack heavy, which makes for an even better "casual" listen that allows you to relax and drift before yanking the leash with cuts from SIR DOUGLAS QUINTET, JESUS AND MARY CHAIN or THE SQUALLS. It's a gorgeous listen...highest recommendation.

WEEKEND AT GRITTY'S

DJARABI SONGS

 

A gorgeous collection of upbeat West African love songs from artists that will be new to all but the most studied TE visitors, which is typical for Little Axe compilations. Contributors include WASSOLA FANTA, TATA DIAKITE, MAMOU SIDIBÉ and others, closing with a lament to the Sahel from IMMA BABA COULIBALI. Many things in and of this world are very ugly - these sounds are beautiful. 

DJARABI SONGS

SUMMER JAM LOVE CLASSICS

 

Summer is right around the corner - shit, looks like the Central Valley is going to kiss 100 degrees this weekend - and that means it's time to dust off some summer love jams. Don't worry though, we've got you covered. I don't know what subsequent volumes of Summer Jam Love Classics had to offer, but it's entirely possible that the creator/s simply looked at this first volume and decided it would be pointless to try to top perfection. Kinda like SLAYER should have done after Reign In Blood - even South Of Heaven was a lateral move at best, but I digress. A solid hour of slow soul grooves, late '70s to early '80s R&B...Summer Jam Love Classics, just like the title says. ENCHANTMENT, WHISPERS, SKYY, DENISE WILLIAMS, ATLANTIC STARR all anchored by PEABO BRYSON's excruciatingly sexy "I'm So Into You." Yeah, summer will be here before you know it. Get ready to sweat. 

SUMMER JAM LOVE CLASSICS Vol.1 

BARRIO MUSIC

 

This is probably the coolest Barrio Music volume I've delved into so far, which makes me excited to keep plowing my way through the twelve tape series. Anchored by undeniable classics by ELVIS PRESLEY ("Now Or Never"), ? AND THE MYSTERIANS ("96 Tears"). LITTLE RICHARD ("Good Golly Miss Molly") and JERRY LEE LEWIS ("Great Balls Of Fire"), you've also god JAMES BROWN's deadly ballad "Try Me" and "Doing It To Death" by FRED & THE NEW JB'S (a song I always thought was actually by The Godfather Of Soul). And then there't the other stuff....GENE & EUNICE, LARRY WILLIAMS, MANHATTANS, PEACHES & HERB, even PAUL fucking ANKA delivers a killer. A standard from THE PLATTERS and a smooth as fuck track from the suitably named DON & JUAN round out the roster and.....my people this is just a perfectly curated mix of perfectly wonderful music. Like, can you think of a better way to end your week?

BARRIO MUSIC vol.4

AUFLAGE 100

 

What a.....what a sweet collection of songs. You could really stop listening after the opening track from GHOST AMBULANCE and feel satisfied - one of the most innocent and sincere love songs I can remember hearing. What follows is a perfectly curated mix of '90s proto-shoegaze and harmlessly mellow indie cuts from TRAUMA GLOW, MANIC YOUTH, COMBAT BEACH, LAUNDROMAT CHICKS, a surprisingly addictive groover by SWELLE and an airy epic from SAKURA.....basically a grip of modern Austrian bands I would never have crossed paths with if I didn't have a well connected pal who likes to meets for burritos on occasion. He says "you're welcome."

AUFLAGE 100

EVALUATE WHAT YOU TOLERATE

 

At the risk of repeating myself, the early '10s in the Bay Area were truly special time (much like the early '00s if we're being honest). There are bands here who formed the foundation for some truly great gigs (ACRYLICS, MOZART, MASS ARREST), bands I had never heard of before listening to this comp (MARRAIGE + CANCER, REVOLUTION BUMMER, HIGH ANXIETY, WARP), bands I was familiar with but who were outside of my general orbit (SPACE TOILET, PREENING, BUTANNA). Throw in MONSTER SQUAD, STREET EATERS and NOPES, all of whom are still active a decade (plus) later and you have a magical time capsule that is very clearly about so much fucking more than a few killer songs. But speaking of killer songs, DID IS DEAD, FATTYCAKES & THE PUFF PASTRIES and MABS deliver three of the killerest cuts you're going to hear today. 

EVALUATE WHAT YOU TOLERATE VOLUME 2

DOGGISH BOYS

 
I don't even know what to say here. Just listen, okay? A wild and unhinged spectrum generated hip-hop mix tape orbiting the mind of JEFF DOGG. Chopped and/or Screwed drug addled rap dispatches like you've never even imagined from the Pinhole Family.....the shit sounds weird, the shit is infectious. I feel like this is something Aesop would have created and/or released (which reminds me that I should hit that dude up to say hello). Just listen, okay?

DOGGISH BOYS MIXTAPE

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:

LOWRIDER

 

Nothing says "lazy Friday" like a killer collection of freestyle, funk, R&B and street dance jams. Straight up. MC FROSTY. DAZZA. THE FLAVA SYSTEM. WORLD CLASS RECKIN' CRU. SETH LUV. BABY G. There's more, but really you just need to freak to ROCKY & MS. VEE "Dance Freak To The Beat" and fuck literally everything else. I know I said some things about punk music yesterday....you know what motherfuckers? I'm saying the same shit today listening to BY ALL MEANS KINGS and MILDRED BLACK so think about that maybe. Or just listen and fukkn ride...low.

LOWRIDER SOUNDTRACK VOLUME 2