"attitude"

Girl Talk noted one of his early inspirations for glitching out tracks and making mash-ups was kid606's version of NWA's Straight Outta Compton. Around 1999 or so, the kid was doing crazy remixes and mashes in this vein that he simply warped the hell out of the original track while keeping it funky, loud as hell and funny too. With starting his own label, the bizarrely fascinating tigerbeat6, he decided to take it a step further and invite his friends to the party, eventually leading to the creation of the Violent Turd sublabel and releases like "attitude", a collection of similarly warped tributes to NWA and their individual members.

"attitude" is a who's who of indie electronic stars circa 99 and the early 2000s, with drone enthusiast Keith Fullerton Whitman appearing as jungle breakster hrvatski, Digital Hardcore's christoph de babalon, Brad Laner's anything-goes electric company, noisy electro-enthusiast Lesser, the wonderfully disturbing and thoroughly sample-friendly matmos and nine other artists including 606 himself with his already "classic" Compton remix.

"attitude" was issued as a 12" and a 3" CD, neither of which were ever reissued to the best of my knowledge. Alongside the "attitude" release, kid606 also issued a remix of CB4's straight outta lowcash in a very similar to the Compton remix that was issued on a single track business card shaped CD named "altitude". On top of that, electro-pranksters V/VM also issued 606's original Compton remix (this time credited as the MC DSP Mix) as a 7" on their label with a b-side named with attitude?, a remix of the Misfits, you guessed it, Attitude that was attributed to Tigerboy, another cute alias for Mr. 606. Remember folks, he's got a million of these variations!

For your listening pleasure, today I present to you the "attitude" compilation with the previously mentioned straight outta lowcash and with attitude? tracks. The "attitude" comp is from an original 3" CD while the other two tracks are from MP3s I've found during my searches. Please keep in mind, despite the comp being fourteen tracks with the additional two tracks tacked on, this isn't a long listen and it certainly isn't public performance friendly, so don't blast this if you're at work, I will not be held liable for the loss of your employment! Otherwise, enjoy!


"attitude"

01 kid606 - straight outta compton
02 team doyobi - fuck tha police
03 christoph de babalon - appetite4destruction
04 hrvatski - SUCKA
05 V/VM - straight outta edgeley
06 electric company - xpressway to yrself
07 din s.t. - 100 miles and runnin
08 pure - fukb!tchni66akun+
09 Lesser - fatgirl on my jock
10 dat politics - verd
11 pisstank - respect da bitchz
12 pimmon - pranksta pranksta
13 matmos - great white entertainers
14 cex - just dont bite it

Bonus Tracks:
kid606 - straight outta lowcash
Tigerboy - with attitude?

Attention: Cats

I'm sure you all noticed I started this year with some momentum, but it broke last week when an emergency arose within my family. I can't say that it's been resolved, so I can't promise regular updates this week, but I'll try to continue the momentum nonetheless. That said, today's post won't be the most detailed and has been simmering for quite a while, but if you're into experimental, noise and electronic music I'm sure you'll find it quite enjoyable.



Keith Fullerton Whitman, also known as Hrvatski, has released quite a few records under that pseudonym as well as his own name, but one of his first releases was under multiple aliases making itself out to be a compilation of artists from his Massachusetts scene. This comp was released on vinyl only under the name Attention: Cats, although years later, Keith admitted that it was all him when he announced an intended reissue of his amazing Oiseaux album (which you can still download here!). That reissue never happened, but Attention: Cats still circulated online between fans of Keith's releases.

This rip is taken from my own original vinyl pressing, although the rip is quite old. In my opinion, it's still a very good quality, but I may have to update it eventually. For more info on this album, check the bottom of this page from Keith's record shop, Mimaroglu Music Sales, detailing his discography as well as the reference page at Discogs. You can also check out some demos from this album, Oiseaux and some early Hrvatski tracks at this page on Keith's site.


Attention: Cats



PS - Unrelated to Mr. Whitman and the namesake compilation of this post, I wanted to point your attention to my friends in the band kind and their myspace page. They have posted rough mixes of their first two demos, although the finished mixes should be online sometime in the near future. Also, they'll be playing Musica in Akron, Ohio this Saturday the 23rd with Full Wave Rectifier and another band whose name escapes me at the moment (sorry fellas). I suggest you go get rocked if you're in the area!

Blip, Bleep (Soundtracks To Imaginary Videogames)

Lucky Kitchen is a label started in NYC by Daniel Raffel, Alejandra Salinas and Aeron Bergman in '96. I guess it would be considered an "artsy" label, but that's only because their releases are so diverse. They've released field recordings, family tapes, non-academic electro acoustic recordings (say it five times fast!) and were self-aware enough not to take themselves too seriously. Their releases feature incredible packaging, but the first batch came in numbered, hand crafted packages and the sounds contained therein were just as unique. All in all, Lucky Kitchen puts a lot of time and effort into their releases and it shows. Take a few minutes and visit their site and you'll be able to see the majority of their releases and their awesome packages.

Probably the best known release in Lucky Kitchen's catalogue is Blip, Bleep (Soundtracks To Imaginary Videogames), a wide spanning collection based on the rather obvious subject matter. When it comes to game-inspired music, I'm used to hearing a lot of 8-Bit style sounds, so it's a pleasure to hear music not confined to that rather limited palette. That's not to say the 8-Bit spirit isn't there, and it would be wrong if it was missing, but everything doesn't sound like Super Mario Bros and that's a blessing.

Blip, Bleep was issued in a quantity of 746 copies and was an instant hit. David Byrne and Jim O'Rourke praised it and the accursed Rolling Stone even interviewed the label for a planned article. That article didn't happen which is probably a good thing, but when there are only 746 copies in existence of a highly coveted release it's hard to gauge how the world would react to hearing more than mumbles about you. Because of that, a lot of tracks from Blip, Bleep were reissued on other compilations, but that's just not the same thing as having that hand-crafted package.

I searched for years for an original copy of the album, but the best I ever came up with was an excellent quality 256kbps rip. Thankfully, someone was nice enough to upload the packaging from their copy to Discogs.com and a perfect FLAC rip has since appeared online, so that's probably as close as we'll get to the real thing. So, today I present to you the aforementioned 256kbps MP3s with the artwork from Discogs.com for your listening (and viewing) pleasure. Of course, you should take the time and visit Lucky Kitchen's fascinating site for additional info about this and their other releases, and you can always also check the Discogs reference to see the original artwork in case you don't want to download the album. But if you haven't heard this one yet, grab it and enjoy. If you like videogames and/or videogame music, you'll most likely find yourself very pleased!


Blip, Bleep (Soundtracks To Imaginary Videogames)
Part One
Part Two

01 Nick Birmingham & Daniel Beattie - Trashcandan
02 V/Vm - The Swedish Model With Big Bazoomas and No Implants Bedding Game
03 Soundcard - Thula
04 Colongib - Megablasterfiend
05 Egghatcher - Chaos Equilibrium
06 Jake Mandell - Botanical Seppuku
07 Personal Electronics - A Seller's Variation's
08 Thug - Theme From Tsunami Brothers
09 Marumari - The Vaus
10 Blitter vs. Hrvatski - Nuclear Cats Get New Home
11 Flexible Products - Get Soaked
12 Aerospace Soundwise - 1985
13 MHAR66 - Access Denied
14 FlatlinerRacingSystem - Video Tic-Tac-Toe
15 Stupid Lepton - Star Cruncher
16 Wheaton Research - Soul Transport
17 Suetsu & Underwood - Family Tree Polo
18 Underwood - Leonardo DiCaprio Game

August 2009 Mixtape

LOVE IS A DONUT...uh, it's time for another Unheard Music mixtape! The last one was a bit era-specific but this episode is more in the vein of how these posts will usually be. Enjoy!


The Unheard Music - August 2009 Mixtape

01 Liz Phair - Chopsticks
I love Liz Phair. She gets shit for having a more commercial sound these days but she doesn't seem to care. She's said several times that she has to pay the bills and it's hard to be an indie star like she used to be when you're raising a family in the suburbs. This is from her second full-length, Whip-Smart, and is kind-of the last stand for her more indie specific styles. I'll be doing a post about her beautiful, early demos in the near future. If you're not familiar with her, you should get Exile In Guyville. It's a very honest record and you don't have to be a woman for it to change you.

02 Hrvatski - Vatstep DSP
More Hrvatski for those who enjoyed his album. This was created as a remix for kid606 although it only features a few very small samples making this more an original track than anything else. You couldn't generally call Hrvatski's music happy, but this track is as close to happy as he gets. Lotta fun!

03 Greg Phillinganes - Behind The Mask
This is kind-of the missing link when it comes to Michael Jackson's Thriller. As the story goes, Quincy Jones was obsessed with the Yellow Magic Orchestra's song, Behind The Mask, and decided he wanted to make a version with proper lyrics. He asked Michael to write the new lyrics, and together they created an incredible pop song. For reasons unclear though, Michael's version has never seen the light of day, although Greg, Michael's keyboardist through most of the eighties, recorded the MJ version and released it as a single. For all we know this might sound exactly like the MJ version, but no one has said anything so who knows. All I can say is this song is a slept-on eighties classic!

04 DJ Mink - Hey! Hey! Can U Relate? (feat. The K.I.D. & Carruthers)
This sounds more like an old-school hip-hop track than something from the early nineties. Initially released on the British FON label, it was licensed by Warp and became a popular underground hit. Hip-Hop heads know this track well but this was never a commercial hit, so check this shoulda-been number one jam.

05 Venice Shoreline Chris - All-Nite Dinah
Also known as Chris Murray, Venice Shoreline Chris recorded his album, The 4-Track Adventures Of Venice Shoreline Chris, all by his lonesome, but you'd never guess it by how fun the album sounds. Check out his site for more info and samples from some of his other records.

06 Beck - Satan Was Way Cool
From a demo tape recorded during his early, weird years, this is Beck recording new vocals over King Missle's Jesus Was Way Cool. Funny as hell! I'm gonna do a post on Beck earlier, folkier and way-weirder days sometime in the near future. I probably would have done it already but he's got so much stuff to choose from!

07 Mochipet - They Might Be Giants vs. Lyrical Giants (Get Crunked!)
Oh yeah! Mochipet is well-known for his dancey releases, but this is from Combat which he released on kid606's Violent Turd Records. Great record that clocks in around a half hour, it entertains for a long time afterward. This is an easy highlight from that record.

08 Miles Davis - Willie Nelson (Insert 1)
This is from the Complete Jack Johnson Sessions box-set that Sony released a few years ago. A small portion of several takes of Willie Nelson was included in the completed Jack Johnson album, but the additional takes are awesome. This one includes Sonny Sharrock doing some seriously fucked-up echoplex soloing. Awesome record!

09 John Oswald - Anon
This is from the 69/96 compilation which sorta came out. You can buy it digitally via iTunes or Amazon and physical copies are, or were, available, although there was never an Oswald sanctioned release, or at least that's the official story. The truth is that Negativland is responsible for the US release of this compilation which features remastered and cleaned-up versions of most of the Plunderphonic album and other gems from throughout Oswald's career. They were able to release it after Oswald sent them digital copies of the masters, artwork and liner notes, but Oswald did try to get this released on his own. Unfortunately, the CRIA would not allow him to do so even if he were to get permission for all samples, so he took matters into his own hands and let Negativland help out. This track is a reworking of a Tim Buckley song and was originally part of the Elektrax/Rubaiyat EP which was a promotional release on Elektra Records. You can get the whole EP here at the excellent Music Hertz, among many other great things! Check them out!

10 Foetus - Clothes Hoist
JG Thirlwell is THE MAN! This is from the Hole album which he released as Scraping Foetus Off The Wheel. As most of his releases are under a variation of the name Foetus, I'm just gonna stick with foetus for simplicity's sake. Get creeped out and rock out to this, and if you're feeling it grab the Hole album!

11 The Stick Men - Caged Sex
The Stick Men were incredible. Coming out of Pennsylvania, they bare a resemblance to James Chance and The Contortions, although they're quite a lot more fun in my humble opinion. If you like this you need to get their album, Insatiable. It's such a shame when stuff as unique and crazy as this falls victim to the perils of history and location.

12 Miles Davis - Willie Nelson (Insert 2)
Another take with Sonny Sharrock, but this one also features John McLaughlin. Wild stuff!

13 Bob Dylan - Get Your Rocks Off
From the infamous Basement Tapes, this unreleased track is a gem. There are so many awesome recordings from this era in Dylan's career. I might post some Basement Tapes goodness eventually, it's just that there is so much stuff to choose from. I feel like I should post everything I've got, but that's nearly a gigabyte of stuff, so I'm just gonna give it some time.

14 Vernon Reid - What's My Name
No question mark in the title, so does that make it a statement or a typographical error? either way, Vernon and his band, Masque, along with producers Prince Paul and Teo Macero, bring the action. This is from Vernon's Mistaken Identity album. Most of the album isn't this intense but, if you like electric Miles, you'll enjoy the whole album. Really good stuff!

15 Randy Newman - Political Science
I remember Mr. Newman complaining that this is one of his most timeless recordings. I understand why, but I love it all the same. Sarcasm, a sick sense of humor and maybe even a little honesty, just don't take it too seriously.

16 Jimi Hendrix - Stars That Play With Laughing Sam's Dice
I only heard this for the first time very recently. This is up there with Hendrix's best in my humble opinion. It starts off innocently enough before it literally leaves the planet.

17 Whale - I'll Do Ya
Whale are one of the great unknown bands of the mid-nineties, at least in the US. They started with a joke single and video featuring a sexy little thing with braces and a lollipop teasing a number of shirtless men only to release a funky, druggy, in-joke of an album that sounds like the soundtrack to a really insane weekend. This song should have been huge! If they ever played it live I hope to god that it was incredible. PLAY IT LOUD!!!!!

18 John Oswald - Case Of Death (Part One, Chapters 1-16)
More Oswaldian goodness, this is also from the 69/96 compilation. If you like his stuff you should really support him by purchasing the comp. Mind melting stuff.

Hrvatski - Oiseaux 96-98

Keith Fullerton Whitman is Hrvatski. These days he generally records under his given name, but in the mid to late nineties he was creating drum'n'bass experiments that blew minds if you were lucky enough to find them. In this case, he produced the Oiseaux 96-98 album which compiles tracks he recorded from, guess what, 96 to 98! The easiest thing to compare this to would be Big Loada era Squarepusher, but that's not giving Keith the credit he is due. A graduate of Berklee, Keith infused the d'n'b rhythms of the amen loop with field recordings, krautrock stylings, noise, abstract designs and a curious love of birds. Oh yeah, and a really spaced-out remix of Pink Floyd's Cirrus Minor. All that said, he also made killer d'n'b tracks that will melt your speakers.

I can't do Hrvatski justice in text, so I'm just going to post this album for you to absorb. This was released in 1999 on Keith's own label, Reckankreuzungsklankewerkzeuge, and sold out two pressings lightning quick. It, and just about everything else he released on his own, has been out of print since, although he still has some releases available on Mike Paradinas' Planet Mu label and most releases under his own name are easily available, although they are far more sparse and experimental, usually focusing on processed guitar with field recordings. You can read more about Keith/Hrvatski at his extremely detailed official site, which will give you info about a number of his collaborations and alises.

If there were ever an album I wanted people to hear more than Crazy Wisdom Masters or God's Foot, it's this. Please take the time to download this one as it truly mind-blowing. This is a brand new rip from an original copy of the CD in V0 for optimal quality, so don't be concerned about the confines of MP3 in this case. Keith has tried to reissue this a few times over the years, once in a deluxe package with other tracks from this period and another time on vinyl, but none of these attempts have come to fruition. Maybe people think this is a dated sound, but I honestly believe this album rises out of the stereotype of drum'n'bass as there is nothing simple or pedestrian about the tracks. Again, the easiest comparison is Squarepusher, but that doesn't tell you anything other than there are beats. There is SO MUCH MORE here than just beats!

Hrvatski - Oiseaux 96-98
NOTE: Please download both files. You need both to unzip the album.
Part One
Part Two