Mudhoney, “Superfuzz Bigmuff” (SubPop 1988)Unlike a lot of their contemporaries, they assimilated ‘70s hard rock to punk on punk’s terms. This is their most full-throttle/excessive take on that combo, wall-rattling drums and queasy guitar-crud-tornados driving Mark Arna’s valedictory yodel-yowls of generational doom.Try 1/1, 1/ 2, 1/ 37/6/18
The Muffs, “Blonder and Blonder” (Reprise, 1995)This band was pretty much peerless in combining a classicist mid-‘60s sense of pop song structure (think Who/Kinks/Beach Boys) with the finest dynamic heaviness of ‘90s alterna-punk. This is their hardest, fastest and best.Try 2, 10, 137/26/12
Muffs, “Whoop Dee Do” (Burger, 2014)One of my favorite new labels puts out one of my favorite old bands, who sound restored to their old glory. This is blazing, hard-edged melodic punk with mid-60’s embellishments and enough attitude to flatten Pasadena. L. A. punk lives.Try 1, 710/4/14
The Muffs, “Blonder And Blonder” (Reprise, 1995)Melanie now gone (*sigh*), their second album puts Kim up front for the most explosive set of their career. Power-driven bubble-punk with huge guitars and Angry Barbie (as Ann Powers tagged Kim) blasting everything in her path with a big-ass Bazooka of hooks and snotty attitude.Try 1, 2, 8, […]
Walter Murphy, “A Fifth of Beethoven” (Private Stock, 1976)Murphy had the idea (first?) of doing disco versions of renowned classical works, and the result is cheese of truly towering awesomeness (though his originals are kind of blah).Try 1/1, 1/ 4, 2/1.4/19/13
MV/EE, “Space Homestead” (Woodsist, 2012)Man, what a perfect album title for this label, and it really lives up to it. Folk-based, often drumless music with guy/gal vocals, it can wander into a passage of weird clatter or ominous electro-buzz, yet always with an intimate, domestic vibe.Try 6, 97/12/12
MX-80 Sound, “Crowd Control” (Ship to Shore, 2015; original release 1981)Third and final LP from these guys, and their heaviest and jazziest, parallel in all the above respects to their big influence, the MC5. In fact, this album could be said to take the Five’s metal-dynamism through a dimension-warp into chrome-sheened post-new-wave-quirky disorientation.Try 1/ 1, […]
MX-80 Sound, “Hard Attack” (Superior Viaduct, 2012; original release 1977)Like Pere Ubu, Midwest isolation p;roduced a sound parallel/preceding punk. Stooges/MC5-inflected hard rock shading into avant-garde structure-trickery. These guys also had a wacky smart-aleck sense of humor and an almost Beach Boys-like melodic drive.Try 1/1, 1/ 4, 1/5, 1/ 6, 2/ 26/18/18
MX-80 Sound, “Out Of The Tunnel” (Ship To Shore; original release 1980)Their second release finds them at their summit of brilliance. The most immaculately chrome-sheened Blue Oyster Cult hard rock drives Television-like soar-and-scrape lead-guitar-as-paintbrush cityscapes into frantic incandescent soundbursts.Try 1/ 1, 1/ 2, 1/ 57/11/18
Mötörhead, “Another Perfect Day” (Bronze, 1982)Their sole set with ex-Thin Lizzy guitarist Brian Robertson is unique among their works, and one of their very best. Eerie melodies take it almost into the territory of looming, autumnal psychedelia, but without sacrificing an iota of metallic weight and velocity. This is often their closest to anticipating speed-metal […]