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, “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, “Sing Along with Millard Fillmore” (Time/Life Records, 1964)
A retrospective of U. S. Presidential campaign theme songs going back to William Henry Harrison in the 1829s (two of the best!), as performed by studio musicians who sound like they had a good time. Kinda neat to hear it go from a kind of marching band/Appalachian folk hybrid to incorporations of ragtime/jazz motifs. All of it has an aggressive earnestness (and earnest aggression) that would be hard to reproduce in our more self-conscious era, but the flashes of (surprisingly) hit-‘em-below-the-belt humor should be plenty relatable (tho they did it better).
Try 1/ 2, 1/ 5, 2/ 1
10/15/16
Various Artists “Stage Diving To The Oldies” (Restless, 1995; original recordings 1978-82)
Release date indicates attempted cash-in on the post-Nirvana commercial breakthroughs of the Offspring and Bad Religion, but whatever – this is a snazzy set of vintage L. A. hardcore. This really gets the signature sound and sensibility of its subject – the suburban nihilism, the late-night visionary flash, the revved-up surf-beat with snarling guitars and razor-edged hooks. Crucial shit.
Try 1, 3, 5, 10, 12, 13, 16
8/16/15
Various Artists, “Teen Expo: The Cleopatra Label” (Numero Group, 2018; original recordings 1960-70)
So this guy ran a tiny indie out of northern New Jersey, and he put out examples of pretty much every happening pop style of the ‘60s – girl-group, garage-punk, folk-psych, dance-floor r&b, even post-doo-wop crooning. But it all feels of a piece. He wrote and produced a lot of it himself, and there’s a distinctive ear/feel at work – gauzy, eerie, sweet, enchanted.
Try 1/1, 2/4, 2/7, 3/3, 3/7, 4/1, 4/3
10/2/18
Various Artists, “Local Customs: Lone Star Lowlands” (Numero Group, 2016; original recordings 1969-74)
The rock-and-roll Schlimanns of Numero here unearth a veritable buried city of sound, an entire community of post-hippie folk/country/rock musicians in Janis Joplin’s hometown of Port Arthur, Texas. And “community” is the operative concept: there’s a gentleness and warmth here, whether in the church-basement-r&b shuffles or the weathered acoustic strums, that’s perfect for making yourself at home with a warm cup of something indoors on a rainy day.
Start with 11, 12
4/7/19
Various Artists, “Local Customs: Burned At Boddie’s” (Numero, 2011)
In the ‘70s and early ‘80s, the Boddie pressing plant in Cleveland would supposedly put out anything, for peanuts. The mind-boggling variety here (soul, proto-industrial, spooky singer-songwriter, etc.) is evidence, as is the sheer un-pin-down-able weirdness of what should be genre exercises but end up frequently sounding like the first (or last!) examples of said genres, gloriously isolated like musical marsupials.
Try 5, 12, 14, 16
7/19/12
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