Various Artists, “Philly Thrash Brigade: Play Fast Or Die” (Creeping Vine Productions, 2008)
A mix of speedmetal, hardcore and related stuff, the common criterion being sonic restlessness and a socially confrontational stance. The scene-comp angle gives it coherence and force – it sounds like they Mean It.
Try 3, 4, 6, 9, 11, 12, 14, 18
7/29/12
Various Artists, “Pop Pop Yeh” (Sublime Frequencies, 2012; original recordings 1964-70)
Another entry in SF’s continuing and crucial documentation of ‘60s Southeast Asian pop, this volume focuses on work from Malaysia and Singapore. This is great stuff, like Chinese/Arabic surf music with quicksilver guitars and mesmerizing female vocals distantly reminiscent of French yé yé pop.
Try 3, 5, 7, 16, 19, 21
4/19/13
Various artists, “Shut Down” (Capitol, 1964 [?])
Label cash-in on the title track with a variety of drag-racing songs that actually kick serious ass. Fast-talking gearhead lyrics, and music that blows past in a stripped-down blur.
Try A/1, A/4, B/1, B/3, B/6
5/5/12
Various Artists, “Wanna Buy A Bridge?” (Rough Trade, 1980)
Watershed com of Rough Trade’s definitive early roster. “Post-punk” as a form-shattering avant-garde – political, rhythmic, spatial, tonal, you name it. And the songs are catchy as hell even so. This is a genuine “greatest hits.”
Try 1/ 2, 1/ 4, 1/ 8, 2/2, 2/ 3, 2/ 5
6/18/18
Various Artists, “Lost In The Stars: The Music of Kurt Weill” (A & M, 1985)
Hal Willner production featuring talent at the crossroads of Bohemia and the mainstream (Lou Reed, Tom Waits, Marianne Faithfull, etc.) paying tribute to the early- to-mid-20th-century composer who played a crucial role in mapping that particular intersection. Weill’s music welded Broadway brass onto Viennese-avant discord in a way that works quite well with the hot-and-cold blend of studio rock sounds here.
Try 4, 12, 13
4/7/19
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, “Natures Mortes – Still Lifes” (4AD, 1997; originally recordings early 1980s)
Some of 4AD’s earliest stuff, in a fine morbid/intense post-punk vein – razor-shard guitars, claustrophobic bass, inexorably steady drumbeats.
Try 4, 8, 11, 13.
2/14/13
[Track listing inside booklet.]
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, “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, “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