Various Artists, “Saigon Rock And Soul” (Sublime Frequenies, 2015; original recorings, 1968-74)
Influenced by the Hendrix-loving GIs, South Vietnamese rock of the late ‘60s was much heavier and trippier than the other Southeast Asian sounds of the era, yet shares their delicate, angular melodicism and melancholy.
Try 3, 8, 17
11/10/16
Various Artists, “Rare Punque Français, ’77-‘83” ([not on label], 1997)
French punk has a really unique flavor—a combination of articulate, over-the-top snottiness and a pop sense rooted in classic ‘50s rock and roll—and this comp (actually an entry in the “Killed by Death” series) contains some fine examples.
Try 1/1, 1/11, 2/1, 2/3
10/22/11
Various Artists, “Punk Territory” (Anthology, 1990s; original recordings 1978-1981)
Totally fucking excellent selection of West Coast punk, from the early Masque and Mab origins to the start of hardcore. The selections find the exact right spot between “obscure” and “classic,” and they all have that weird, enduringly alien feel that sets this stuff apart.
Try 1, 3,6, 7, 8, 11, 15, 16, 19
8/23/12
Various Artists, “Performance” (Warner Bros., 1970)
Killer soundtrack for Nick Roeg’s sinister psychedelic flick. The Mick Jagger and Randy Newman cuts are dead-cool, vertiginous rock-and-roll burners; Ry Cooder’s rattlesnake slide guitar crawls all over the place; and the ambient music settings by producer Jack Nitzsche are like if, instead of peace and serenity, New Age music had been designed to induce skin-crawling paranoia.
Try 1, 2, 7, 8, 10, 13
11/10/16
Various Artists, “Pebbles” [don’t know which vol.]
Legit release of the legendary original ‘60s garage-rock series. This volume is oriented around the “primitive” side of things, and this stuff is really raw, the best of it pressing hard against the boundaries of conventional totality and “good taste.”
Try 1, 7, 9, 13, 15, 17, 18, 25
4/4/11
Various Artists, “Making Losers Happy” (Drag City, 1992; original release Xpressway, 1988-1991)
Xpressway was a pioneer of the “lo-fi” indie sound that came to dominate in the ‘90s, but their version was tougher – a dour, dissonant, distant noise that filtered the John Cale aspect of Velvets-style strum-drone-pop through the wind-swept remoteness of the label’s New Zealand home. Wild, inventive, singularly uncompromising stuff.
Try 1, 12
7/26/12
Various artists, “Buy Beer” (12XV, 2012)
Fine comp, some artists local (Austin) and/or on the label, some not; sound programming and selection make a case for its contents as a coherent whole of noisy, rousing contemporary punk rock. Highlights include A/2 (spacey garage-punk), A/4 (gorgeously twisted noise-pop), A/5 (heavy, disjointed psych), B/2 (moody/jangly postpunk), B/5 (buzzy/melodic garage-punk), B/7 (thunderous lo-fi-punk structure-busting).
5/5/12
Various artists, “Cambodia Rock Intensified!” (Lion Productions, 2011; original release late 1960s/early 1970s)
More painstakingly restored classics from Cambodia’s incredible pre-Khmer-Rouge rock scene. If you haven’t heard this stuff, picture a harder-rocking, trippier take on French ‘60s pop with all sorts of dizzyingly baroque inflections of Cambodia’s local melodic and rhythmic heritage; this is ome of the best of it I’ve heard.
Try 3, 4, 9.
1/13/13
Various Artists, “Cambodian Cassette Archives” (Sublime Frequencies, 2004; original recordings 1960s-1990s)
Most of this was recorded in the ‘80s, in Cambodia and its diaspora communities. It’s rooted in the classic late ‘60s/early ‘70s Cambodian pop template blending American acid rock, French à-go-go pop and Khmer folk melodies, but more stylized and filtered through synth-pop cool and new-wave stutter. Not quite at the level of the older style, but still wild, bewitching off-kilter stuff.
Try 4, 6, 15, 16, 19
2/21/16
Various Artists, “Chicas! Spanish Female Singers, 1962-74” (Vampi-Soul, 2011)
If you like the glossy/brassy ‘60s beat-girl-pop of the French yé-yé singers or Southeast Asian “a-go-go” sound, you’ll probably love these Spanish variants, from ’64 to ’72; I know I do. This stuff is campier, more garish and kooky than its sister-model across the Pyrenees, but just as gracefully kicky.
Try 1, 5, 10, 11, 12, 20, 24
2/28/12