^Bought this for a Meat Beat Manifesto Mix I made years ago, because they wrote Asbestos Lead Asbestos, I made the mix and this slipped through the cracks since back then I never really cared for this Punkish Industrial sound. Well digging through my rock section recently I stumbled upon it and thought, fuck it, it might be good this time. I was really surprised how cool this was. Nice and noisy dubby punk music, and fairly a obscure record to boot. It’s funny how sometimes you sleep on your own shit for years and years and when the time is right for you to wake up you realize it’s been 15 years, you ask yourself "why did it take me this long to appreciate this?".
Throbbing Gristle - Heathen Earth LP (Mute) 1983 RE of 1981 OG
^Deep filthy industrial textures on this. I’m finally getting into this one off audio art band. I think I’m weird enough at this point in my life to appreciate this. This is not the kind of music you bust out for the wife and kids, it’s deep dark and repetitive textures almost non-linear in a way like Eno’s Ambient series.
Ministry - Filth Pig LP (Music On Vinyl) 2014 RE of 1996 OG
^Speaking of Industrial, I’ve always been a pretty big fan of Ministry. The robotic pounding drums are slightly toned down on this 1996 album compared to the satanic themed ΚΕΦΑΛΗΞΘ from a few years prior. They are still at the top of their game, even more so with thicker production on this moodier LP.
This reissue on Music on Vinyl doesn’t disappoint, everything they press, regardless of vinyl color is top notch audio. I can confidently pay more money for this British Import label knowing I’ll be 100% satisfied with the caliber of sound each time. I think this is my 20th record I bought on that label and with me they are 20 for 20.
Agression - Bootleg Recorded Live At CBGB's In New York, 1985 LP (Bootleg Records) 1985
^Funny thing about this punk record, it’s not a bootleg. It’s an official record on Bootleg records so there.
Regarding the music, DOPE. I don’t know the band, but I know CBGBs and I know 1983 was a good year for punk so based on those two tidbits I scooped this up at a nice price. God DAMN the drummer on this is so good. The show must have been a killer, and this record puts you right there in the thick of it.
Suburban Mutilation - The Opera Ain't Over Til The Fat Lady Sings! LP (Beertown Records) 2014 RE of 1984 OG
^This one ranks at the top of my list for hardcore, and as a strange bonus they are fellow Wiscomptonites from Green Bay. This record is so kick ass and blood pumping and I love it so much that I bought doubles, one for my little brother for his Christmas present. He’s trying to get into punk and I am trying to help out by sharing one of my all time favorite hardcore records. This blue reissue was done flawlessly. Apparently it’s a RSD release from 2014. The nice thing about RSD records is they usually sound pretty good, this one might actually be an improvement from the locally pressed OG from back in 1984, but I’m speculating on that. If you are into hardcore punk even slightly, this should be in your crates.
Reagan Youth - Vol 1 LP (New Red Archives) RE of 1990 OG
^Speaking of Christmas presents, you are looking at one of the fattest presents ever I got from Punktownkid. This gatefold reissue has a few bonus tracks not on the 1990 original and it’s pressed on nice thick loud black vinyl. This is the real hardcore, the founder and lead singer of this band, Dave Insurgent started this now legendary hardcore punk band which graced CBGBs and blew up the New York underground back in the Reagan years. The band was so perfectly honed and in sync. They were funny and furious. Tragically he led the life of a true punk, he was a dealer, an addict and after his mother died and his hooker girlfriend was murdered by serial killer Joel Rifkin he killed himself in 1993. I can’t even make this shit up, but you can really hear the realness of all of that in this fantastic compilation.
^Oh look another hardcore record. YEAH? WELL, DEAL WITH IT PUNK!
This is some never before released punk from the Philly hardcore scene back in the early 1980s. They toured live with some of the biggest names in the scene but never scored a real record deal until bloggers surfaced some of their bootleg tapes and ears perked up. Once in a while, RSD can be a good thing. They made sure this got the proper love it deserves and pressed it up on nice fat very pretty vinylssss. It’s a collection of some live and some studio work and it is just as wonderful as the hardcore pieces I mentioned above. I have no problem whatsoever buying punk on RSD, I hope this year pans out because records like this are absolutely worth all the RSD hype.
Gary Numan - The Pleasure Principle LP (Beggars Banquet) 1979
^Classic. His song “Cars” is a certified classic but this entire album is classic all the way through. There’s really nothing like Gary Numan. You gotta have 70s Gary, Devo, Eno, and Kraftwerk, while they are different I believe they all could live nicely together on a mix.
Portion Control - Simulate Sensual LP (In Phaze Records) 1984
^Even though this was much later and more experimental in nature I think these guys could also live nicely on that imaginary mix. This is a strange clear and brown vinyl pressing, but it’s really interesting electronic music. Instead of trying to describe, I’ll let Youtube do it’s job.
Plant Life - The Return of Jack Splash LP (Counterflow Recordings) 2004
^Ending on a lively one, imagine an even more falsetto voiced Prince focusing on modern funk. That’s Plant Life, his voice has an uncanny Prince sound but not in a rip off kind of way, it works. This one’s pretty dirty, I’m a bit surprised it never got the Parental Advisory stamp but whatever. I’m also surprised it’s called the Return of Jack Splash since it’s their debut record, but again, whatever.
Check out “We can Get High”, this one sums up their philosophy nicely.
YEAH? WELL, DEAL WITH IT PUNK!
