Niner - Zero 7" (1999)

A long day spent scraping the mold off the dollar bins three years ago accrued me this obscurity. Niner were a band that might have been from San Francisco. Visalian Records put out this 7", and it is for certain that they were from San Francisco. A website says the following about the label: "San Francisco indie. Home of The Cave-Ins, Cosigner, Mathew Tea, Niner, and The Playroom." Information about this band could not be found, hence the entry. Punk music with fast tempos and melancholy themes. There are probably a lot of these floating around in the same stacks.

Niner - Zero 7" MediaFire

Red 40 - Discography (1999)

Surely not an unfamiliar sight to most, but Red 40 still seem to a band that is perpetually under the radar. I just recently picked up this discography CD after having the MP3s for easily a few years. I'm genuinely at a loss for anything coherent or fresh to say about this band that hasn't already been said before. This is not groundbreaking music, and any fan of Jawbreaker (a band which I more or less abhor incidentally) will immediately hear the influence they had on this band. The lyrics are longing, juvenile and rife with adolescent desperation. And the frontman, Ben Nichols, went onto to form Lucero... I'll let you draw your own conclusions. What I'm saying is, this has its drawbacks... but how much more catchy can this get! This stuff will get in your head and stick around past the afternoon, perhaps even later. It's apparent to me that these songs were written while Nichols was relatively young, or young enough to warrant lyrics so painful (pun intended), and probably going through a transitional period in his life (read as puberty).

With all that said, about halfway through the CD you'll probably turn it off. I find that their niche unfortunately becomes tired near the end. The first half is worth a at least a couple listens though. If you didn't figure it out, this was a pop-punk, Jawbreaker-influenced band from Little Rock and the predecessor to a more successful band, Lucero. This discography CD was issued twice, my copy being from the re-release. It is out of print and hard to come by - like all of this band's output - but there are a few copies on eBay as of this posting. For anyone reading who still has this, grab this if you want a higher bitrate; I was able to replace my 128kbs MP3s with this. Highly recommended!

Red 40 - Discography MediaFire

Alexander Goldscheider - Themes For a One Man Band Vol 1 (1983)

Taking a break from the deluge of punk records in the "to jam" pile to share this library synth obscurity. London's Red Bus Music Library (full name being the Red Bus Music Library Limited) were one of many mystery library labels from UK; a quick search turns up little specific information. However, this composer's identity is a little less dubious. Dr. Alexander Goldscheider is a composer from Czechoslovakia who popularized the use of synthesizers in that country during the late 1970's. What seems to be his first effort, Themes For a One Man Band Vol 1 precedes a semi-illustrious musical career, one in which Goldschieder cut various songs for use in film, television and radio broadcast. An example of his more popular work is below - a clip from a Czech hit-parade entitled Hitsarada:



This LP is a fine, comparatively less obscure example of European library synth. Its sub-title, if you cannot read it from the photo, says "Pop and classic images of space." And images they are, as Goldschieder lifts the listener through the multifaceted galaxy in a series of demonstrative compositions, propulsive as they are ethereal. Upbeat and occasionally sparse recordings for your next trip to Saturn.

(Do forgive an error in the tags - I tagged the date as 1986, when in fact this record was released in 1983.)

Alexander Goldscheider - Themes For a One Man Band Vol 1 MediaFire

Totsugeki Sensya - Chain of Tragedy EP (2011)

Okay, I couldn't wait another day to share this one as well. Japan's Totsugeki Sensya (apparently translates into English as Attack Tank) have been a band since 1998 or earlier, and yet it seems so little due attention has been paid to them. I, too, had never heard them until this five-song EP, which I've played over and over again since I received it. The package also came with their first EP, also on Lengua Armada, which I'm tempted to share alongside this at some point. This is a perpetually hasty affair, with the signature Japanese tone and little hooks to be found. The music is simple down to its lyrics, which were written in English just broken enough to be coherent. It's my opinion that the lyrics are frivolous, as they've been written one million times for the two million years ("We are killed by the system as it stands / Resist the system right now.") Whatever. One of my favorites from the bunch.

Totsugeki Sensya - Chain of Tragedy EP MediaFire
Totsugeki Sensya - Chain of Tragedy EP Buy It

Criaturas - Arañas en el Corazon (2011)

Continuing with the new Lengua Armada releases, today I'm sharing the new Criaturas EP. This is yet another Austin-based hardcore band that released a demo sometime last year that, unlike the Vaccuum demo, I haven't heard and didn't notice. That's okay, this four-song slab of catchy punk music makes up for that. There have been many interesting bands and sounds coming out of Texas for the past couple years, and it seems this band is no exception to that. "Harsh," "ferocious," "fast," other assorted adjectives. This band has members of Deskonocidos and the vocalist screeches harmoniously in Spanish. The end.

Criaturas - Arañas en el Corazon MediaFire
Criaturas - Arañas en el Corazon Buy It

Vaccuum - Vaccuum EP (2011)

I'm back from vacation, and happy to announce that I came home to a package from Lengua Armada, chock full of their latest round of releases. The first new record of theirs I'll be sharing is the one I was most excited about: the five-song Vaccuum EP. Includes re-recordings of songs from their demo. A very loud, occasionally upbeat, consistently angry round of hardcore from the Bay Area. I thoroughly enjoyed the "blasted-out" (oof), unrelenting guitar tone present in every song; there are moments when you can't hear a thing apart from the guitar. The EP is an improvement over the demo, but also sounds like more of the same (which isn't necessarily bad.) Turn up your volume and give it a shot.

This is now sold out from the label, and only distro copies are still available. Click the link at the bottom to snag the last of them.

Vaccuum - Vaccuum EP MediaFire
Vaccuum - Vaccuum EP Buy It

Manipulation - 2 EP (2010)

Okay, okay, one more. This is the newest release from Chicago's Manipulation, whose first 7" I shared back in April. I'm pleased to say that their new record shows improvement in leaps and bounds. Not much else to say, too busy packing. I did not rip this one, and instead will be sharing the download code version. This is currently available in every applicable way, so there is no reason not to buy a copy yourself. Okay, now I'm leaving. Enjoy.

Manipulation - 2 EP MediaFire
Manipulation - 2 EP Buy It

On Holiday

Hello,

I wanted to let anyone who may pass through know that I will not be updating until the week of January 16, as I will be on vacation all next week. Consider the recent quick succession of entries as compensation for that, as well as my otherwise infrequent updating routine.

Thanks for reading,
Ryan

V/A The Way Things Change #6 (2002)

The conclusion to this 2001-2002 pop series. Great tracks from Putney Swope, All Girl Summer Fun Band and Rocketship. If I ever got a hold of volume five, I'll be sure to share that as well.

V/A The Way Things Change #6 MediaFire

V/A The Way Things Change #4 (2002)

Probably my second favorite of the series, as nearly every band is a standout: Second Story Man, Six Cents and Natalie, Casino Ashtrays (Laura Watling!), and The Lucksmiths. All twee, all the time.

V/A The Way Things Change #4 MediaFire

P.S.: Check out these Smiths boots, released during the waning days of 2010!

V/A The Way Things Change #3 (2001)

Third volume in the series. Obvious names are Mirah and The Cannanes. Less acoustic, perhaps a little more electric than the previous volume. Figurine, Cannanes and Mirah's tracks were composed around programmed electronics and keyboards. Low fidelity for the whole family.

V/A The Way Things Change #3 MediaFire

V/A The Way Things Change #1 (2001)

A while ago, I promised to finish sharing the remainder of this singles series. Well, I'm going to do just that for the next few days, but very reluctantly. I never managed to grab a copy of the fifth in the series, so there will be a gaping hole where it should be. Regardless, pop fans of all shapes and sizes, enjoy!

The first volume in Red Square's "The Way Things Change" compilation features the likes of Jen Turrell and Stewart Anderson of Boyracer fame and Calvin Johnson of fame-fame. There was a little hiccup on the Calvin Johnson track, sorry.

V/A The Way Things Change #1 MediaFire