Failure

Failure

Fantastic Planet

Slash / Warner Brothers, 1996

Ahhh. The 90's. Who would have thought I would look back on a decade, in which I labored through so many awkward adolescent years, with such fondness. I've said it before and will continue to do so. The best music, all genres included, was produced during the 90's. Failure's Fantastic Planet is no exception. This is an album that I recently rediscovered while sifting through my iTunes, and I have been listening to it quite a bit. Quite a bit meaning that it's pretty much melted itself into the CD player in my car (except for when I dislodge it to rock some Botch.) This was their third and final record and it is one of the most solid and consistent albums, beginning to end, that I have ever heard. I guess you could label these guys "alternative", but that's way too easy and a total cop out. Failure as a band was so superior to similar bands of that era that it's a crime they never made it big. It seemed like every band with a distortion pedal and greasy hair could get a record deal in the 90's, while truly talented bands like Failure, Hum and Walt Mink were lost in the shuffle and banished to obscurity, only to be revered by the odd hipster or music nerd.

Failure's heavy, laboring riffs and spacey lead lines are f**king heaven to these jaded ears. Failure and Andrews painstakingly produced this record themselves, fine tuning and tweaking every aspect and in doing so created a "space rock" masterpiece. This kind of music truly just doesn't exist anymore. The dark, ethereal feel of the album is most likely a result of Andrews' drug use at the time, with many songs serving as metaphors for heroin. God, that is so 90's.

It's a shame that most people today think that "Stuck on You" is a Paramore song. But don't judge these guys by the bands who covered them. With tracks like "Saturday Saviour", "Smoking Umbrellas", "Blank", "Stuck on You" and "The Nurse Who Loved Me" (which was covered by A Perfect Circle), this thing's a winner.

Maybe the 90's weren't as special as I like to think they were (although I highly doubt it). However, this record is special and anyone who appreciates music from that time should own it.

These Arms Are Snakes

These Arms Are Snakes

Tail Swallower and Dove

Suicide Squeeze, 2008

http://www.thesearmsaresnakes.blogspot.com/

http://www.suicidesqueezerecords.tumblr.com/

I'm going back a few years on this one. I always have a hard time deciding whether Tail Swallower or Oxeneers is my favorite TAAS record. I'm going to post Tail Swallower though because it's easily the most (gasp) accessible. This is way more straight forward than their other records as far as song structure and overall songwriting. For those who are not acquainted with TAAS, they were essentially a super group of Seattle post-hardcore juggernauts including former members of Botch, Kill Sadie and Minus the Bear. Since they disbanded in late 2009, members have continued to garner respect and remain more than merely relevant by going on to play in projects like Narrows and Russian Circles.

It's really hard to describe TAAS' spastic, aggressive, yet melodic sound to anyone who has never heard them. And they sound nothing like the respective bands from which they came from. Sometimes I think that TAAS sounds like what Nirvana would have sounded like if they had kept evolving towards the heavier more experimental songs off In Utero. TAAS is way more precise musically and utilize keyboards at just the right times to blow your f**king mind though. Tail Swallower is the place to start if you want to check these guys out. You will not be disappointed. Then check out Botch, Kill Sadie, Narrows, Nineironspitfire, Russian Circles...

Helms Alee

Helms Alee

Night Terror

Hydra Head, 2008

www.myspace.com/helmsaleemusic

www.hydrahead.com

What the f**k. Is it really 2011? Ridiculousness. It feels like this record just came out. I'm a huge Harkonen fan so naturally I picked up this record because of Ben Verellen. I'm also a huge fan of Hydra Head as a whole, so how could I go wrong? Fortunately, I did not go wrong. Night Terror is very good. Not quite Harkonen good, but good. Imagine Harkonen mixed with the Pixies being played at half speed. I had no idea at first that they were a three-piece. I also had no idea that the bassist was a female, which was a pleasant surprise because Dana James' vocals blend perfectly with the total assault of such songs as "New Roll". I also knew that the drumming was absolutely brutal, so imagine my surprise when I found out that, yes, the drummer too is a woman. For some reason this makes me like Helms Alee more than if they were all guys. Is that sexist? Whatever.

Lungfish

Lungfish

Artificial Horizons

Dischord, 1998

www.dischord.com/band/lungfish

http://www.dischord.com/

I honestly just picked this record because it's the Lungfish record that I'm currently listening to. Everything these guys touch is f***ing golden. Listening to Lungfish is listening to art being created. As cliche as that sounds, it's the honest to god truth. A lot of their detractors tend to focus on the repetition of their music. Yes, it can be repetitive. If repetitive means trance-inducing, mind-altering awesomeness. Not like psychedelic, PCP mind-altering, but rock that will take your ass to the next level mind-altering. That's right. Next level. Oh, and Daniel Higgs has the dopest beard ever. Buy every album you can. You can thank me now.

Murder City Devils

Murder City Devils

Empty Bottles Broken Hearts

Sub Pop, 1998

http://www.subpop.com/

This was one of the greatest bands. Ever. They sang about everything I would ever want to hear in a song: press gangs, Johnny Thunders, Iggy Pop, women, wine, sailors, Santa Claus and of course the Mutter Museum. Just straight up rock and roll with the perfect mix of punk ethic. The stale beer and sweat are almost palpable when listening to their records.

During their career they never got the recognition they deserved and various members have gone on to play or have played with other bands such as Dead Low Tide, Modest Mouse, Pretty Girls Make Graves and Big Business. Their shows were always a lesson in how to rock a f**king club to the ground.

I highly recommend every one of their releases; you really can't go wrong.

This is one of my favorites just because of "I Want a Lot Now", "Hey Sailor", and "Johnny Thunders".

I would also highly recommend the DVD "The End: The Final Show Halloween 2001". It's a band giving it everything they got and more and any aspiring punk/rock band should take notes and study hard.

Unfortunately MCD called it quits just as they were really gaining momentum, but what they left us with is some of the best punk and rock music to date.

Wire

Wire

Pink Flag

Harvest/EMI, 1977

I'm going to keep this short and to the point, just like the songs on this record. Wire were one of the first Art Punk bands, and one of the greatest punk bands of all time. I prefer this record to Chairs Missing and 154 because I think this is the most "punk" of all three. The songs are short, energetic and charged with the energy of that time. Some highlights include.. well, the whole album. But my personal favorites have always been "Reuters", "Ex Lion Tamer" and "Brazil". But every track is a winner. God help you if you don't own this.

Blood Brothers

Blood Brothers

Burn, Piano Island, Burn

V2, 2003

www.v2music.com

I'm still a big Blood Brothers fan. I own pretty much everything they've ever recorded, and I think this is by far their best record. I didn't know what to think the first time I heard these guys. It was a welcome assault on all of my senses. The odd time signatures, the absolutely schizophrenic nature of the music and the duel shrieks of Johnny Whitney and Jordan Blilie horrified me. But I loved it. I couldn't quite grasp what I liked about them so much at first, but I knew they were special. It's kind of like watching a Werner Herzog film. You may be saying "what the f**k" through the whole movie, but you know that it's genius. This band is definitely not for everyone. I'm usually not huge on music similiar to this. Actually, maybe that's why I like them. There was no one else like them then or now. Every song on this record is a kick in the face that you will actually be thankful for. Oh, and "The Shame" is the perfect closer for this record and one of my all time favorite songs.

These guys were truly original, and in these times where music and movies are recycled ad nauseum, their level of creativity and originality is sorely missed.

Engineers

Engineers

Engineers

Echo UK Through Ada, 2005

www.myspace.com/engineers0

How can I describe Engineers? Maybe later Duran Duran mixed with.. uh, I have no idea. It's just dreamy pop music from the UK. The land where most dreamy pop music resides, actually. This is good background music. Usually that means something is not interesting, but that's not the case here. It's interesting, just in a slow, symphonic, atmospheric way. It's not rockin' by any means, but who can rock all the time?

Bad Religion

Bad Religion

Suffer

Epitaph, 1988

http://www.badreligion.com/

http://www.epitaph.com/

If you like punk rock at all and you don't like Bad Religion, then f**k you. Seriously. No other punk band, other than The Ramones, has influenced as many other bands and artists and spawned as many imitators as these guys. This album never gets old and is by far my favorite. The production is phenomenal, especially for a punk rock record from the 80's. You would never be able to date it if you didn't already know when it was recorded.

But for me, what has always made Bad Religion the band that they are is Greg Graffin. I would put his vocals up against pretty much anyone from any genre you choose. His lyrics have always been intelligent and thought-provoking as well, even before he earned his f**king master's degree in geology from UCLA and his Ph.D. from Cornell. They made being smart acceptable in the punk rock scene. Yeah, it's fun to listen to mindless, melodic punk rock but I need a shot of reality every once in a while. Yeah, Sheena is a Punk Rocker and that's awesome, but how does Sheena feel about globalization? That's where Bad Religion comes in. They have the ability to be profound without being preachy or pretentious.

Bad Religion will always be one of my favorite bands and this will always be my favorite BR record. Absolutely classic.

Visit www.badreligion.com to download a free live album now.

Project Polaroid

Project Polaroid

Project Polaroid

Threshold, 2006

http://www.threshrecs.com/

So this is a weird one. Project Polaroid was a collaboration between Kool Keith and producer TomC3. Believe me, I don't advocate drug use but if you do use drugs, then this is the record that you should listen to as you partake in those drugs. The beats remind me of 90's trip hop and the rhymes are all stream of consciousness (or at least sound that way). Keith is amazingly disturbing as always and is joined by Prince Po, Motion Man and Roughneck Jihad to round out the weirdness. I guess that you could call this hip hop, but it's too artsy. The rhymes make no sense most of the time but still somehow sound profound, like these guys entered a poetry slam on DMT. Throw in Voltron and middle eastern-inspired samples and you have an absolute mindf**k. But sometimes that's a good thing.

Jets to Brazil

Jets to Brazil

Orange Rhyming Dictionary

Jade Tree, 1998

http://www.jadetree.com/

Back when my friends and I listened exclusively to bands such as The Mr. T Experience, Screeching Weasel and The Vandals, this band was anathema. I remember somehow ending up at a Promise Ring show with a friend and being mortified at the collection of self-important whiners present. This music was garbage. As was anything else that might be labeled "emo" or related to Jade Tree Records in general. However, one of my friends (I believe through his girlfriend) ended up with this CD and shared it with me. I tried my damnedest and literally willed myself not to like it. But songs like "Sweet Avenue", "Sea Anemone" and "Chinatown" had me hooked to this band like a trucker to crank. I still listen to this CD often, and I really don't think it's emo. I don't even know what that is anymore. Fourteen-year-old boys with eyeliner maybe? Who knows. Labels just aren't important these days. This is a great CD no matter what genre you're into. Thanks Josh's girlfriend.

Dwarves

Dwarves

The Dwarves are Young and Good Looking
Theologian, 1997
www.thedwarves.com

I wouldn't say that I'm a Dwarves fan. That rap CD they put out was f**king appalling. And their early stuff doesn't really do it for me either. But Young and Good Lucking is just straight up goodness from start to finish. It's a lot of sacrilege and misogyny, but all in the name of good fun. Every time I listen to this, I feel like I'm 16 again. God, that's actually kind of depressing now that I think about it.
For a band that was infamous for getting dropped from Sub Pop because their guitarist faked his own death, it's unfortunate that now Blag is most well known for getting his jaw rocked by Josh Homme. I don't doubt in the least that he deserved it though. Either way, this is fast, disgusting, immature punk rock. Just the way it should be.

Nothington

Nothington
All In
BYO, 2007
www.myspace.com/nothington
http://www.byorecords.com/

I have a habit of obtaining more music than I can ever possibly listen to. I'm constantly discovering music that I may have bought or downloaded years ago and totally forgotten about. It can be slightly embarassing when other people are listening to my iPod and say something such as, "Wow, this music is fantastic! Please, we implore you. Who is this band and what's the name of this song?" Who knows. But otherwise it adds a little mystery and surprise to my my listening experience. There's worse hang-ups.
That's what happened with Nothington. About two years ago, I had my iPod on shuffle when a song came on that I had never heard. I thought it was maybe The Draft, but couldn't be sure. But I liked it. I checked the title. "Who the f**k is Nothingon?", I thought. Good question. I only had one song and had no idea how it got on there, but I immediately bought the CD which was a good idea.
The easiest comparisons would be with Social Distortion, Leatherface and all the bands spawned by Leatherface, i.e. anything involving Hot Water Music or it's members. Fun fact: two of these guys were in Tsunami Bomb, but this sounds absolutely nothing like them. Which is positive.
Once again, job well done Self and thank you for exposing me to great music.

Handsome

Handsome
Handsome
Sony, 1997

This is a story about neighbors.
It was the summer of 2002 and I was living in the small mountain college town of Boone, North Carolina. During the summer, most of the students would journey home, and the only people left were locals and the the drove of Georgians/Floridians who descended upon the area like ravenous locusts to vacation in their multi-million dollar summer homes.
I, however, was living in a cheap apartment not far from "downtown." It was your average low-rent student apartment. But this apartment came with something I'd never had before. A cool neighbor.
I lucked out and ended up with the best neighbor I've ever had. His name was Seth and he worked at the local snowboard shop, which means he did absolutely nothing. He was like the older brother I never had. He never complained when I would ask him to buy beer for my friends and I, and he unsuccessfully attempted to sleep with every single girl that came over to my apartment.
He would inevitably wander across our shared deck when I had a party, get miserably drunk, and strike out with every unassuming co-ed there. Multiple times. Apparently the line, "I can get you free clothes whenever you want if you come by the shop," doesn't work so well when you have vomit on your shoes and urine dribble on your jeans. Not to be deterred, he would systematically move on to the next girl, no matter how disinterested, sober, or far out of his league she was. It was all part of his "shoot high/aim low" philosophy.
Seth was a good guy though and all we did that summer was drink beer, cook out and listen to music. He was sort of like the Socrates of snow bums and was always kicking me knowledge that was questionable at best. He was the first person to introduce me to Modest Mouse ("Dude, they're not just for indie rock p***ies"), and also dropped this album, Handsome, on me.
We were drinking MGD ("Seriously dude, it's the best domestic beer available, hands down") and eating cheap ribs when Helmet's Meantime queued up in my CD changer. Being a few years older than I was, Seth was even more sentimental about the 90's than I am and was overjoyed. He immediately ran across the deck to his apartment and brought back an album by a band named Handsome. He then demanded that I listen to it because it had changed his life or something. After that, he proceeded to get catastrophically drunk and completely forgot he loaned it to me.
I loved it. Beyond the horrible name and equally awful album artwork was a good band. Handsome was formed from members of Quicksand, Helmet and Jets to Brazil back in the late 90's. Basically they were a supergroup of modestly successful 90's rock bands. The music is similiar to Helmet, but not as "riffy". Jeremy Chaterlain's vocals also make them more dynamic than Helmet or Quicksand. They were only around for a year or two and released this one album, but this is good stuff. It's a 90's time capsule of hard rock (it's not metal, I swear) that still holds up today.
Wherever you are Seth, I want to thank you and Miller Genuine Draft for turning me on to this record and then forgetting that you let me borrow it.

Jesu

Jesu

Jesu

Hydrahead, 2005

www.avalancheinc.com/jesu/html
www.hydrahead.com

Have you ever wondered what the soundtrack to a mountain range crumbling would sound like? Or a city collapsing? Or a meteor striking the Earth? (No, it wouldn't be Aerosmith's "I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing.") Or even witnessing the extinction of all life on our planet? These are the kinds of things I think about. At least when I'm listening to Jesu. And this album would be that soundtrack.
This music is heavy. I'm talking concrete-crushing heavy. But that's to be expected from Justin Broadrick, the man who brought us Godflesh.
The wonderful thing about Jesu is that once you get past the devastating nature of this music, you will realize that at the core, these are extremely well-crafted and beautiful pop songs.
The other great thing about Jesu is that Broadrick understands that you don't have to scream the vocals just because you play extremely heavy music. Throughout this record (and the other Jesu releases) his voice barely rises above the maelstrom of distortion, bass and crashing drums. Now, sometimes screaming is appropriate. Like if you're Botch or Curl Up and Die. Or if your dog eats your laptop (true story). The best way to describe Broadrick's vocals, and I hesitate to use this term.. would be "shoegaze." But it works perfectly here.
Huh. I guess the whole "more than meets the eye (or ear)" and "judge a book by it's cover" thing is true. This record is sort of like the aggro, heavily-pierced girl (no, not the neo-nazi slag that was smashing Sandra Bullock's husband), who you may run into at the gas station from time to time. From her appearance, you immediately assume that she only listens to Norwegian Black Metal and has the entire Faces of Death collection on DVD . But if you get to know her, you find out that she loves baking, Nicholas Sparks novels, Ani DiFranco and finds Jimmy Kimmel "too racy" at times. Yeah. It's like that.
I know there's a lesson to be learned here somewhere..

Burning Airlines

Burning Airlines
Mission: Control!
DeSoto, 1999
http://www.desotorecords.com/

If you were to ask me, kind reader, what my favorite kind of music is, I would probably wrinkle my nose in disgust because that's a ridiculous question and one that I cannot answer. However, were I forced to mull over this query for long enough, I would reply that it's probably something that rocks. Something that rocks hard. I can safely say that Burning Airlines met that criteria.
As a young lad in my musical infancy I was bombarded by alternative and grunge which is obviously going to influence my tastes. Not to say that Mission is either of those. On the contrary, this music is precise, mature, technical and f**king rad. It's everything I would ever want from a band, and it's no surprise that J. Robbins and Bill Barbot of Jawbox were the ones that delivered.
Jawbox were one of my all time favorites, and their sound is definitely present here. But unfortunately Burning Airlines only put out two albums in their all too brief career. If only bad bands would break up as fast as the good ones.
It's hard to describe this album, because the most obvious comparison would be with Jawbox. Maybe a little bit of Pixies, Fugazi and who knows what else. I don't know. No description of mine is going to do this album justice. Just listen to the CD.





EFVWANUYGPKC

The Mess Hall

The Mess Hall

Notes From a Ceiling

Shock Music Oz, 2006

http://www.themesshall.com.au/

www.mypace.com/themesshall

Back in 2004, I spent a little time in Australia and New Zealand. I learned a lot about the people of both countries, both good and bad. For example, I discovered that absolutely no one in Australia drinks Foster's beer. It's nowhere to be found. Australians are also quick to tell you that New Zealand really isn't that great. That's bulls**t. New Zealand is beautiful and the people are wonderful. Oh, and yes, Koala bears are as adorable in person as they are in Asian cartoons. They also smell like mulch and are notorious for maiming human adults. Yes. Maiming human adults. Google it.

Another thing I learned, and this is actually relevant, is that Aussies seem to have an obsession with American Blues music. Sort of like the Japanese and cowboys, it's a strange thing. They absolutely eat up any "bluesy" music or music that's "blues-inspired". It's obviously very romanticized there, and can I judge them for picking certain things from our culture to latch onto? Absolutely not. How many millions of dollars did Crocodile Dundee make here in The States? And I myself have had the displeasure of dining at Outback Steakhouse.
The Mess Hall are a "blues-inspired" rock band from Sydney. When I say "blues-inspired", I mean they're about as bluesy (is that even a word?) as The Black Keys or The Dead Weather. It's in description only. And I would rather listen to this band than either of those two any day. They really defy any simple categorization. The best I can do is Rock. Sorry.

They consist of guitarist Jed Kurzel and drummer Cec Condon, and they make a lot of noise for just two blokes. It's just good time music, bro! This is a band that plays hard, tours hard, and.. plays hard. They released an album in 2009 that's supposedly available on iTunes, but I can't vouch for it because I refuse to buy music from iTunes. This album, however, gets my personal American stamp of approval.

This is a great album from a group that deserves more attention here in the good ole U.S. of A. Seriously, if Jet was able to make it..

Molemen

Molemen
Ritual Of The...
Molemen, 2001
http://www.molemen.com/

Hip Hop in 2001. Back then, I remember thinking that hip hop had really fallen off. Many of the luminaries like Big L, Pac and Biggie were gone and it seemed like maybe true hip hop really was dead. Wow. You really don't know what you got till it's gone. You would think, by observing the obvious cycle here, that ten years from now I'll be waxing poetic about how great things were in 2010. But I can assure you that if I ever look back with fondness on Drake or the autotune, I will happily find someone to knee me in the groin repeatedly.
Because of this CD, when I think of Chicago hip hop, I don't think of Kanye or Lupe or even Common. I think of dark streets and shadowy clubs where midwest hip hop thrived back in the 90's and early 2000's. If Kanye is the glittering lights of the Chicago skyline, then Molemen are the grimy gutters of the South Side where the air is thick with anticipation because s**t can go down at any minute. It's truly sinister and some of the tracks here are more anxiety-inducing than a cocaine-fueled Tyra Banks.
Molemen are producers Panik, Memo and PNS and when Ritual was released, they dominated the Chicago hip hop scene. They are still influential, but to me, this was their apex.
This is a classic "underground" hip hop album because it features many MC's who were either about to blow up or who had just found modest success. Among them were Slug, Aesop Rock, Percee P, MF Doom, Rhymefest and Vakill. The production is dark and atmospheric and it perfectly matches the battle-inspired lyrics on every track.
When it comes to the MC's, it's nothing but ego. The punch lines here hit like Mayweather and everyone is in top form. Just a few of the highlights are the tracks from Matlock, Juice, Vakill, Prime and Qwel. Some of Chi-Town's finest are here and, in my humble opinion, it's the hometown MC's that really shine.
This is the sound of producers and MC's at the top of their game, and it's a textbook example of what hip hop should sound like.

Hot Snakes

Hot Snakes
Audit in Progress
Swami, 2004
http://www.hotsnakes.com/
http://www.swamirecords.com/

Man, this CD never gets old.
Hot Snakes was more or less formed from the remnants of the early 90's guitar juggernaut Drive Like Jehu. That's not an easy act to follow. DLJ was known for their punishing and technical six to ten minute tracks that, no matter how much I love them, pushed the limit of my attention span. When DLJ disbanded, John Reis took their complex and chaotic sound and refined it into a f***ing laser beam of frenetic energy that was compressed into three minute songs.
Audit in Progress is one of those albums that makes you feel out of control. In a good way, of course. Like if you're listening to this in headphones walking down the street, you feel like you're going 40 mph. This is the music of high speed pursuits and runaway locomotives.
Besides being a great band, John Reis and Rick Froberg are just two of the coolest people ever. Period. Every band they've ever been involved with has been phenomenal. John Reis is rock n' roll incarnate (he and Froberg are the self-proclaimed "Downstroke Warlords") and Froberg is a twisted, creative genius whose visual art has always been inseparable from his musical projects.
This is a great album from an immensely talented group of guys. I miss this band like I miss indoor smoking. A lot.

Shuggie Otis

Shuggie Otis

Inspiration Information

Luaka Bop, 2001

Original Release, 1974

www.luakabop.com/shuggie_otis

I first heard this album when I was living in Los Angeles. I was driving around Santa Monica with a buddy of mine when he put this album on. It was one of those times when the music you're listening to and your surroundings kind of meld into one. The world suddenly became a sunny, groovy place, man. Then we ended up in East LA which quickly backhanded me out of my music-induced stupor.

This is a perfect summertime album and it's a soul/funk masterpiece of the highest order. Otis truly is a musician's musician and the sound he was experimenting with in 1974 wouldn't sound out of place on a hip hop record from today.This album didn't make much noise back in '74, but Otis is still highly regarded by artists of all genres. You may recognize "Strawberry Letter 23" from this album, as it was covered by the Brothers Johnson who made it a hit. I'll take Shuggie's version any day though.

David Byrne, in his infinite wisdom, re-released Inspiration Information on his Luaka Bop label in 2001, which is just another indication that Byrne is quite possibly God. If you get this version (which is widely available), you will also be blessed with the four bonus tracks that Byrne included from Shuggie's previous album, Freedom Flight.

This really is a classic album from a man who was way ahead of his time and if you pick it up you will not be disappointed. Believe that.