Various Artists, “World War I Fighter Planes In Action” (Riverside, 1961)Not vintage cylinder recordings from the field (though how awesome would that be?!) but a clean, modern document of collector-dudes flying these magnificent machines around a private airfield. This is the real original noise; Jesus and Mary Chain are mere bubblegum popsters by comparison. Throbbing […]
Various Artists, “Four Old 7-inches on 12-inch” (Discord, 1981; original release 1980-81)Collection of early, “Flex Your Head”-era harDCore. Teen Idles were Ian McKaye’s first band; S. O. A. was Rollins’s. All four are great: Teen Idles raw, scratchy and frenzied; S. O. A. fast and clean with shred guitar and vocals, Gov’t Issue pummeling and […]
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, 187/29/12
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, […]
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/65/5/12
Various artists, “Mind Expanders” (Past & Present, 2010; original releases late 1960s, early 1970s)Mainly European psych, for soundtracks and the like; really tripped-out commercial/countercultural clash, like watching the wallpaper come alive.Try 3, 5, 6, 14.2/14/13
VCMG, “Ssss” (Mute, 2012)This is Vince Clarke and Martin Gore, founding members of Depeche Mode, together again for the first time since Clarke split after DM’s first album to form Yaz, then Erasure. And while this isn’t synth-pop, it is seriously excellent—throbbing minimal-electro as a platform for quicksilver slashes and waves of shimmering, twisted sound, […]
Velvet Monkey, “Futuro” (Fountain of Youth, 1983)Weird stuff from early ‘80s DC, like some kind of missing link between the Stooges and synth-inflected but rockin’ New Wave à la Missing Persons or the Cars, but more “Nuggets”/garage-psych oriented than any of the above.Try 1/ 2, 1/ 4, 2/2, 2/51/12/11
Velvet Monkeys, “Rotting Corpse Au Go-Go” (Shimmy Disc, 1987; original recordings early 1980s)This group was “Indie-rock” before the term was invented, and thus their cool, pulsing, crisp, stripped-down sound fell between several chairs – organ-driven new wave, jangly garage-punk, hard-driving Stooges-esque guitar blasters. Well ahead of their time, with consistentl great songs, this band is […]
Velvet Underground, “Squeeze” (Kismet, 2012, originally released 1972) Back in print at last, this unfairly maligned no-original-members LP is really a mistitled Doug Yule solo LP; its fine songs closely resemble the songs he sang on “Loaded,” with the same warm-yet-distant, rolling rock pulse, like being run over by a cloud. Start with 1/1.11/12/12