Prurient - "A Meal Can Be Made"

Here's the brand new single from Cold Cave keyboardist Dominick Fernow. Prurient is more experimental, noisy and for me it sounds more industrial than anything else. Still the song is damn good and is unlike anything I've heard so far.

Чисто нов сингъл от кийбордиста на Cold Cave Dominick Fernow. Prurient е по-експериментален, шумен и поне на мен ми звучи доста по-индъстриъл. Все пак песента е доста добра и много различна от всичко, което съм чувал досега.

Prurient - "A Meal Can Be Made" by Binaryfiend

400 Blows - We Killed Like Champions

Stream of the new song "We Killed Like Champions" from American noise-punk band 400 Blows's forthcoming album Sickness and Health is available from Decibel Magazine's website. Check it out below.

Американската noise-punk банда 400 Blows пусна онлайн новата си песен от предстоящият им албум Sickness and Health. Песента може да бъде чута на сайта на Decibel Magazine от линка по-долу. Поне според мен сингъла е доста добър, притежаващ твърд и агресивен звук. Заслужава си да се чуе.

400 Blows - We Killed Like Champions (stream)

Gypsyblood - "Take Your Picture" (video)

American indie/noise-rock Gypsyblood's latest video for "Take Your Picture" from their debut album Cold in the Guestway via Sargent House Records.

Gypsyblood " Take Your Picture" from Sargent House on Vimeo.

Handsome Furs - Repatriated/What About Us

Today I got two tracks in my mail from Handsome Furs of their upcoming Sound Kapital album which you can hear and download for free.
Handsome Furs -- Repatriated by Craze
Handsome Furs -- What About Us by Craze

Assassins 88

Assassins 88 are a two-piece lo-fi indie noise punk band from Canberra, Australia. Please do not let this "88" confuse you as it has nothing to do with the nazi "88". I have to admit that it's been awhile since I've heard something similar. It's like No Age meets Lightning Bolt but in a very twisted way. Or maybe it's The Locust sonically infesting The Mae Shi. The truth is that these two aussies produce pure sonic chaos that it's in a way appealing with it's raw and dirty sound and screaming vocals. Add to that some really energetic performances and you get an idea what to expect from this two. The drummer literally kicks-ass. The first time I heard their music I felt like my ears were raped by this weird cacophony of various different sounds. But very quickly I realized that it takes time to appreciate such music. I can recommend "Girls Girls Girls" off their debut album with it's simple no-brain lyrics and distorted melodic sound. I can imagine this being played at a house party. Definitely not a music for everyone but might surprise many. Sonic mayhem!

Assassins 88 - Kaneda EP
Assassins 88 – Go Go Second Chance Virgin

Assassins 88 myspace

Beach People - Assassins 88 (Summer Body Workout) from Lindsay Horner on Vimeo.

Anal Cunt - Howard Is Bald

Sorry if the title of this post offends anyone, but that is the band's name and they have a habit of living up to it. That said, Anal Cunt is basically three jokes done over and over again with varying degrees of success, and the joke is usually to make a lot of noise, cover a popular song while making a lot of noise or say really offensive things while making a lot of noise. The noise part, it's pretty important. Because of these facts, despite some of their music being intensely funny, you really only need one album by them, and Top 40 Hits is probably that album. If you need more Anal Cunt though, Howard Is Bald is the one to get. Drunkenly improvised over disco records, all while endlessly mocking the record's namesake, Howard Is Bald is easily one of the most insane examples of homegrown hilarity.

Please don't take their offensive song titles or abusive words seriously, these guys are far too ridiculous to mean anything they say. In the over twenty years they've existed they've come to represent the sound of bored teenagers making talentless noise while getting drunk off of cough medicine or smoking crappy joints, all the while doing so rather professionally. It's hard to explain how they could be professional other than to say far more thought than necessary has clearly gone into their output. Seth Putnam, the group's leader, almost died of a drug overdose and fell into a coma, only to survive and play songs like You're In A Coma. Clearly, the dementia is part of the appeal.

Like I said, don't take these guys too seriously. I suggest you download this, plant your tongue firmly in your cheek and go drive around listening to these incredibly stupid songs. I'm including Top 40 Hits for download as well as you should hear it. Damn, these guys are stupid as hell, but that's part of the charm.


Anal Cunt - Howard Is Bald

Anal Cunt - Top 40 Hits

Los Angeles, November 2019: Blade Runner Ambiance

I don't know who is responsible for this incredible release other than their association with Esper Productions, but kudos to them for their incredible work. This CD was issued in 2003 and features ambient sound from the film Blade Runner. I love Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep? but equally adore Ridley Scott's Blade Runner and it's associated ephemera. Vangelis isn't one of my favorites but his score is beautiful, transcendent and mystifying, though the absence of the peculiar sounds and effects throughout the proper soundtrack leaves me wanting more. The answer is this remarkable collection for whom the responsible party is unknown, at least to my knowledge and, as far as I can tell, outside of whatever private circle of fans and collectors this originated from. Whether this was meant to remain a secret or not, some secrets are just too good to keep to oneself. Put this on, close the door, lower the shades and slip into a future that will never come.


Los Angeles, November 2019

01 Los Angeles, November 2019
02 Third Sector - China Town
03 Fourth Sector - Downtown
04 Nineteenth Sector - Police Headquarters
05 Twenty-Fifth Sector - Tyrell Corporation
06 Seventh Sector - Apartment 9732
07 Ninth Sector - Urban Blues
08 Fifth Sector - Animoid Row
09 Second Sector - DNA Row
10 Seventh Sector - Apartment 9732 (Reprise)
11 Eighth Sector - Nocturnal Rain
12 Tenth Sector - The Bradbury Building

Brad Laner is Electric Company

Oh Brad Laner, you are such a totally awesome guitar/noise/electronic music making dude! You're a member of Medicine, been associated with kid606's tigerbeat6 label, worked alongside Ken Andrews and all kinds of studio geniuses, and you're also known as Electric Company, a catch-all label for your impossible to sort experiments in sound. Unfortunately, there is also little information I can find about you in grand detail beyond this timeline. Luckily, there is TONS of your music available for consumption, although much of it is out of print. That said, today I'm posting two of your incredible releases as Electric Company for all who are as fascinated with your musical output as much as I am. In case you're not happy with that, my sincerest apologies but I figured it would be alright since these albums are no longer available for purchase. Nonetheless, if you would like these removed, please say so and I'll be happy to do so.

The first of these two albums is A Pert Cyclic Omen, your 1995 release of noise, feedback and loops that makes Kevin Shields' work sound like that of a folk guitarist. It came out on Onion Records in conjunction with Rick Rubin's American Recordings. Sadly, like so many releases on American, it disappeared for reasons unclear other than it not being a Johnny Cash album. That's not meant as disrespectful to Rubin or Cash, it's just a fact as most American releases have disappeared from the market after a few years, often after American's distribution once again changed hands.

The second album featured is 1998's Studio City which was issued on Island. This is more of an experimental attempt at drum n' bass or jungle beats, albeit in a very Laner fashion which is to say twisted, tortured and mutilated till it's absolutely fascinating! There are plenty of great moments throughout Studio City like the danceable Darken An' Slobbering, but my favorite track has to be the closer, Soundcard, where Laner lets the track start and stop until it falls apart upon itself. Gorgeous.

For the initiate, Brad Laner's output may seem daunting, and that assumption is understandably correct, but that doesn't mean it isn't fun to dig in. If these albums grab your interest, be prepared to check out his releases with Medicine, Amnesia, Lusk and so many others. A wonderful starting point would be Medicine's Sounds Of Medicine EP, although I might have to post that here as it is also out of print. For now though, enjoy these polar opposite releases from Laner as Electric Company. I'm not promising they're easy records, but they are truly rewarding!


Electric Company - A Pert Cyclic Omen

01 pA. iNTERCOM cYCLE
02 pOLYMERIC aCCENT
03 eLM cRYPT oCEANIC
04 a pERT cYCLIC oMEN
05 eLECTRO aMP cYNIC
06 cOME cIRCA pLENTY
07 cYCLIC pEE mATRON
08 iN cOMPACT cELERY
09 cYCLOPEAN mETRIC
10 i cAN cOP mY tERCEL


Electric Company - Studio City

01 Arbor Sirens
02 Star Klang
03 Darken An' Slobbering
04 Greenland
05 Throb Ear
06 Second Serve
07 Appendix
08 Born Algebra Skinned
09 Yard Disturb
10 Soundcard

Echo Is Your Love

Here's an interesting and charming four-piece noise-rock band from Helsinki, Finland. And once again I found them by chance which makes things even sweeter as I begin to like them more and more witch each song played on my computer. the band was founded twelve years ago by Mikko Heikkonen and Ilai Rämä and ever since they are constantly playing around the world. For that period the band released five albums, a bunch of EPs and splits and toured extensively around the world (and sadly not in Bulgaria). We need more bands like Echo Is Your Love here in Bulgaria as our so-called indie scene seems rather dull and frigid. From what I heard so far I can tell that they sound damn good and I can only imagine what it'll be like seeing them live. Great indie-rock coming from a country known mostly for it's metal escapades.

Echo Is Your Love official site
Echo Is Your Love myspace

No New York

It's 1978, you're Brian Eno and you're in New York to master the new Talking Heads album, More Songs About Buildings and Food, which you've also produced. While in town you visit an underground festival at a venue named Artists Space and are taken by the "No Wave" bands performing. You decide this music should be documented, so what do you do? You record four of the bands and put out a record on a small subsidiary of Island Records, that label you have a friendly relationship with, called Antilles. You name the record No New York and history is changed or something like that.

Seriously, that's basically what happened. Eno got Lydia Lunch's Teenage Jesus and The Jerks, James Chance and The Contortions (credited simply as Contortions), Mars and Lindsay/Crutchfield's D.N.A. to hunker down at the Big Apple Studio in New York for some quick sessions with minimal production and the album was all but complete. At that time it was probably assumed that none of these bands would go on to anything big, and while their then current incarnations never had any substantial success or hits, you can't underestimate the influence Lunch, Chance, Lindsay and their associates had on modern music. The spastic punk/funk/noise of their works remains important and has been documented in books like Please Kill Me. At times catchy and fascinating, at others ear damaging and scream inducing, everyone here was truly unique for their time and there really aren't many records like it. A number of unrelated compilations have even been issued to pay tribute with names like Yes New York, Yes L.A. and Maybe Chicago?, but they all kind of miss the point. While those compilations feature bands of their eras and scenes, there was NOTHING like No New York at it's time, nor is there much of anything similar today. Truly great stuff that proves you don't have to be number one to change the world.


No New York

Contortions
01 Dish It Out
02 Flip Your Face
03 Jaded
04 I Can't Stand Myself

Teenage Jesus and The Jerks
05 Burning Rubber
06 The Closet
07 Red Alert
08 I Woke Up Dreaming

Mars
09 Helen Fordsdale
10 Hairwaves
11 Tunnel
12 Puerto Rican Ghost

D.N.A.
13 Egomaniac's Kiss
14 Lionel
15 Not Moving
16 Size



R.I.P. Anya Philips: 1955-1981

Tape-Toons - Gravel Love in Kent, Ohio

Late in the summer, I paid a visit to my friend Bobby at KSU. We talked music, video, work, etc. and then I mentioned that, at least at that time, I was considering starting a small record label. He asked me if I was looking for talent and I answered that the label would only handle small reissues. He was a little disappointed but then told me I had to hear this band he had been shooting a video for. We went into one of the computer labs and he punched up the myspace page for the Tape-Toons and proceeded to play their song, Mice In The Walls. It was bluesy in a way similar to the Black Keys but the performance was a lot rawer, and I mean that in every instance of the word. The vocals could have been recorded in a professional studio or on a hand-held recorder, the guitars are beautifully rough as though positioned somewhere between Kurt Cobain and a brain-damaged Jimi Hendrix and the percussion keeps you at attention as it gently moves a little off beat only to come back solid as hell. I was excited to say the least!

I asked to hear more, but what Bobby played me sounded like David Yow from the Jesus Lizard singing alongside unmixed, out-of-sync multitracks from a noise band. I wasn't sure what to make of that other than to say I was intrigued. Turns out something must have been wrong with the computer because that's NOTHING like what Tape-Toons sound like, but it didn't turn me off in the least. I asked him to see if he could get me a copy of their album and a week or two later he brought me a fully packaged and mastered CD. The package was actually created from newspaper with a handwritten track list and a giant stamp imprint on the front with the band's name and that of the CD, Gravel Love. I asked if this has been made specifically for me as it looked so unique, to which he explained the band wanted all of the CDs to be unique unto themselves so they had created the stamp, used different inks for each cover and created each case from newspaper themselves. I was impressed, but then I listened to the CD. It fulfilled on the promise of Mice In The Walls, coming across like a personalized performance from the band in your living room. It's by no means overly produced but rather an accurate representation of their sound, loose and beautifully ragged. Tracks like the heavy rave-up of She Drove A Spike, the slowed-down throwback rock of Rush To The Cemetery with it's insane drumming, the grungy depression of CEO Blues, they all got under my skin like so many heartfelt records have before. And then there is their beautiful cover of Pavement's Grounded. By now, I was reconsidering the whole not signing anyone to the label thing. Of course, shortly thereafter I lost my job and the dreams of a label went up in smoke, for the time being at least, but I knew I had to write about how great these guys are.

The Tape-Toons are Andrew Bittaker on guitar and vocals, Allen Bittaker on bass and Dylan Gomez on drums. Their album, Gravel Love, is available for purchase at their live shows with a digital release soon to be issued, and they also have an EP on iTunes named Blah BlaH which features two songs from Gravel Love and four more not on the album. They've got Facebook and MySpace pages they update frequently and are performing live at the Europe Gyro in Kent, Ohio alongside The Lorax Tree and Shank Bone, so you should get yourself there and let these guys blow you away!

And now, for your listening pleasure, with the blessing of Tape-Toons I've got two tracks from Gravel Love for you to check out. I've already posted Mice In The Walls but Rush To The Cemetery is new to these parts so grab 'em and enjoy! When their album becomes available online I'll be sure to post a link for you to check it out. Now go see them Thursday!

Tape-Toons - Mice In The Walls

Tape-Toons - Rush To The Cemetery

No Age - Glitter

Summer is winding down even though the weather is still pretty nice. All in all, there has been a lot of cool stuff so far this year and I'm finally getting back into the groove after keeping things a little slower than usual this August. With that said, I'll get back to a more regular habit of posting in September. August isn't done yet though, and I will do that small Fripp post Monday or Tuesday. Today though...

I went out to my boss's house to help with a tech thing only to return home two or three hours later and find that a DVD screener of a movie I wanted to see leaked in that time and another one the night before (of course my two favorite movies from this summer haven't leaked yet though. Why can't I get DVD screeners of Scott Pilgrim and Inception? C'mon! I promise not to share them! SERIOUSLY!!!), but the new No Age album, Everything In Between, also leaked! There are a few albums on my want list that I am eagerly awaiting but the No Age album has been at the top of that list since it was announced a few months ago. Now, if you've been reading my site for a while I'm sure you know that I don't share albums that have an impending release and I don't want to see money taken from folks who put their hearts into what they do, so while I downloaded the album I'm not gonna share it and I'm going to pick it up upon it's release. If you download it and like it I hope you do the same, but even though No Age are becoming quite the popular band in some circles, I realize that not everyone is familiar with them so I wanted to share a little info about them and give you an idea what they sound like.

No Age are the duo of Randy Randall and Dean Allen Spunt. They were initially part of the hardcore punk group Wives, but after that group dissolved they decided to continue on as a duo with in different direction. It's probably easiest to describe No Age's sound as dreamy, shoegazer punk with a joyous edge to it. They use noisy guitar loops for texture and trade off on instruments regularly making for a great live show. Lyrically they're more stream of consciousness than anything really deep, but those lyrics and vocals are like another instrument, further adding to the texture of the band's sound. I'm being lazy saying this, but the first thing I think of is a punk version of My Bloody Valentine's Loveless. I feel like a hack saying that, but that doesn't make the description inaccurate.

For me, if I was 18 or 19, going to college and djing at a college radio station, I would be playing this all the time. No Age is not an overtly commercial band, no matter how catchy some of their songs may be, and I don't ever expect to hear them on popular radio, but that's popular radio's loss. Their new record and it's first single, Glitter, sound a little more polished, but that doesn't hurt anything and they don't sound like anyone else out right now.

I'm not going to continue rattling on endlessly about how great I think No Age are, rather I'm going to give you some evidence so you can make up your own mind. Below you'll find a stream from Sub Pop's SoundCloud page for Glitter, and here are links for Amazon and iTunes where you can purchase that single and hear samples of it's b-sides. On top of that, if you get yourself over to No Age's page at RCRD LBL you can download Glitter and three other songs there for free! How about them apples?

If you're feeling No Age, their new album, Everything In Between, will be released on September 28th, but you can also get the excellent Nouns and Weirdo Rippers now at your favorite indie record shop or digitally online. The CD issue of Nouns is particularly nice with a booklet filled with photos and artwork of the band on tour, doing art things and such. If you like these guys, please support them by buying their album, going to one of their shows or grabbing a t-shirt. They're a true indie duo and I know they'd love your support. Hope you enjoy!

No Age - Glitter by subpop


By the way, you can visit No Age's official website here.

Kashiwa Daisuke - 5 Dec.

I hate to say this, but I know practically nothing about the amazing Kashiwa Daisuke. His records aren't available in the US and may not be available anywhere else outside of Japan for all I know. I found a brief bio for him at TheSirensSound blog and he has his own beautiful website you should check out, but much else, at least in english, is hard to come by. My addition to this small assortment of data will be to describe his music like that of a classical Richard Devine or Autechre. Tracks like Red Moon are hauntingly beautiful and don't feature a lick of distorted electronics, whereas it's follow-up on the album, Requiem, is a masterpiece of noise, chopped-up audio, delays and rhythms. I can't help but think of some kind of ultra-violent mechanized warfare when I hear it and it doesn't relent. And the rest of 5 Dec. continues to shock, amaze and confuse without showing you it's cards. Simply incredible stuff!

As this album isn't readily available for purchase in the US or much of anywhere else as far as I am aware, I will be sharing it with you for download. That said, if you can purchase this album or anything else by the fabulous Mr. Daisuke, please do and support his endeavors. On top of that, on the rare chance Mr. Daisuke or someone from his party is reading this, if you would like me to delete the download from this post please drop me a line and I will be more than happy to do so. All I want to do is spread the word of Mr. Daisuke's work, not rip him off.


Kashiwa Daisuke - 5 Dec.

01 Red Moon
02 Requiem
03 Bogus Music
04 Taurus Prelude
05 Black Lie, White Lie
06 Silver Moon
07 Broken Device
08 About Moonlight
09 Aqua Regia
10 Beautiful Sunday

Brainiac - superduperseven

The story of Brainiac is pretty sad, but only because it was so promising up until its end. They were from Dayton, Ohio, had released three albums and a number of singles, and were on the verge of a contract with Interscope Records when Tim Taylor, their lead singer, was killed in a bizarre auto accident. From there, no reissues, no posthumous releases, the band simply faded away and the remaining members went on to new projects. Truly sad.

If you're not familiar with Brainiac, they were kind of like a spazzier Devo with a taste for noise. My suggested starting points are the Hissing Prigs In Static Couture album, then check out the Internationale EP, which was produced by Kim Deal, and the Electro-Shock For President EP which is more of an industrial/noise experiment than their previous releases. Their first two albums, Smack Baby Bunny and Bonsai Superstar, are both worth checking out but Hissing Prigs and the two EPs are truly excellent.

There is also an excellent EP/single released on Limited Potential Records called superduperseven, their actual first release, but it's been out of print for years despite fans of the band looking for it feverishly. So, it is with great pleasure that I share with you today a fresh vinyl rip of the excellent superduperseven single/EP/release/thing. It's really a solid release and if you like this, don't hesitate to get Hissing Prigs with the quickness! You can also find more information about the band at their wikipedia reference. Enjoy!


Brainiac - superduperseven

01 Ride
02 superdupersonic
03 Simon Says

Alec Empire VS Elvis Presley

If you were on the road constantly with your very high-profile group, making ridiculously explosive music on a regular basis and pushing yourself far beyond your limits, how do you think you'd relax? For Alec Empire, he decided to record a solo record that was partially a parody of his group, Atari Teenage Riot, the sound he helped create, generally referred to as breakcore or digital hardcore, and arguably the world's best known performer, Elvis Presley. It sounds like a joke and the results weren't the best things Empire had produced, but all in all Alec Empire VS Elvis Presley is a pretty serious affair.

Empire sampled a number of Elvis' films and records with the hope to build a bridge between his own artistic aesthetic and Elvis' place in history, and it's actually somewhat successful with Elvis becoming something of a temporary lead-singer for ATR with his performances (occasionally) beat-matched with Empire's precision noise. There are even moments of surprising beauty like the finale, Blue Moon, where Elvis' vocals are time-stretched to their breaking point over a minimal, ambient collection of beeps or Take Away, where the breaks are muted with The King singing peacefully over the restrained fury.

This is supposedly Alec Empire's last straight breakcore record with emphasis on the amen break. Not that Empire ever used the amen in the most traditional way possible, often chopping it to death and running it was faster than any other drum n bass artists dared to. It's still a little odd that he drew the line here with the amen break as his sound wasn't defined by it like other artists were. Alec Empire was always more about blunt force, noise and speed, and he knew the amen was too brittle for many of his assaults, so it was probably more likely he tired of breakcore as a whole or meant this move a symbolic line in the sand for the producers that did abuse the amen regularly.

Empire wanted to release this on his Digital Hardcore Recordings label, but due to the impossibility of clearing the Elvis samples, he realized an alternative arrangement would need to be made. That arrangement involved a limited, pseudo-bootleg release in the US via Can "Khan" Oral's El Turco Loco label on vinyl only. The record became quite the collectible and started appearing on ebay frequently until a few years ago when it gained a pseudo-official release which, in my opinion, is downright offensive. Via The Hellish Vortex's online store, you can purchase a 320kbps MP3 of the album for 16.99 EUR, which is roughly $20 US. Twenty bucks for a compressed, MP3 version of an album just over thirty minutes long that the artist knows they can't legally release otherwise due to copyright issues? If you couldn't release it legally a decade ago then why can you do it now without permission? Hell, the site even has the nerve to claim this album is considered the first mash-up. WHAT??? Who are they fooling?

As I'm sure everyone knows I'm not about sharing music you can purchase legally, but I believe this is the exception if there ever was one. So, for your enjoyment, below you will find a high-quality MP3 version of the album for download as well as a lossless FLAC version.

To give you a little background on the source of this rip, I used to own an original copy of the El Turco Loco vinyl release, which is the only physical release as far as I am aware, and that's where this rip is sourced from. Unfortunately, I don't have the record any longer, and I have no idea what happened to it. Lent it to someone? Lost it in a move? Sold it or gave it away? It could be any of those, and that's a massive thorn in my side, but in my defense, at the time I owned this record I had nothing reliable with which to play back vinyl on so whatever happened I probably didn't care at the time. It's a shame but what can I do? Anyway, apart from track separation and an increase in volume, no post-processing was performed on this rip, so you'll hear some vinyl clicks from time to time. Also, regarding the lack of fidelity on this rip, it has nothing to do with the vinyl or the equipment used to transfer it, the album is simply very rough sounding, so don't be surprised if you're thinking to yourself that this doesn't sound very hi-fi because it doesn't.

So, I hope you enjoy this utterly ridiculous album. If you want to support Alec Empire, don't buy this from his website, instead get something like the fabulous Low On Ice, Generation Star Wars or The Destroyer. I'm sure you'll find none of those albums cost $20 for an MP3 version. Hell, even at 320kbps, $20 is simply insane. Sorry Alec, but I have to call 'em like I see 'em.


Alec Empire - Alec Empire VS Elvis Presley

UPDATE: For anyone having trouble with tracks four in the FLAC or seven in the MP3 versions, they are now available to download individually. Sorry for the delay. Grab them in the tracklist below. Oh, and the regular links still work about as well as they have so far, which is "mostly acceptable".

V0 MP3 Version

FLAC Version

01 Jailhouse Cock Rocks The Most
02 You Ain't Nothing
03 Something For The Pain
04 Take Away (get the FLAC version HERE!)
05 Come On, Fight You Punk!
06 I Am Going Insane Without Your Love
07 He's Dead, That's The Way It Is (get the MP3 version HERE!)
08 Last Message From The Soul
09 Fuck The Majors
10 Blue Moon

more text about the death of video stores, porn rentals and No Age

Back in January I wrote about my joy in seeing Blockbuster Video's once-stranglehold on the video rental market finally eroding so significantly that their corporate structure was in jeopardy. Since then, I still find Blockbusters in one area or another, but they are mostly gone throughout my home state. Unfortunately, the failure of Blockbuster has led to another popular video chain losing it's foothold in the market, and this one is a shame because it was different.

The chain in question would be Movie Gallery as well as it's sister chain, Hollywood Video. The two chains weren't always related, but Hollywood Video found themselves purchased by Movie Gallery's parent company a few years ago and a great majority of their stores shut down. No great loss in regards to Hollywood Video, a chain of stores practically identical to Blockbuster with their large archive of popular movies and video games, but Movie Gallery is a different story. Their selection was never amazing, focusing primarily on newer video and game releases, but they did have one thing most major video rental chains would never dare to carry: PORN!

Unlike Blockbuster and Hollywood Video, most Movie Gallery's had a back room with porn videos for rental and purchase as well as current adult magazines. This never seemed to hurt their reputation, especially as in recent years I saw them expanding throughout my home state.

Now, it's not as though I view a lot of adult material, although I'm sure you're doubting that statement as you read this, but I do believe it's important that consenting individuals should be able to access the content they want to without the prudes of the nation deciding what they should be looking at. I suppose the availability of online pornography and mail-order rental ala Netflix (whom don't rent porn to the best of my knowledge, although several of their contemporaries do) make the accessibility of adult content at regular video rental shops far less necessary than it previously was, but it's still a shame as many consumers don't like to wait for their content, especially something as personal as adult content. On top of that, I'm sure those who frequent adult websites will agree that watching someone "schtuping" someone else on your computer screen isn't the preferred method of observing such details. Yes, one can convert those videos they've downloaded into a DVD or such format, but there goes the immediate element again.

With all of this said, I bid a sad farewell to Movie Gallery for the foreseeable future, although it wasn't the only show in town. Family Video is still around, a chain whose name I always thought was funny since it also rents adult videos, but hey, adults are part of the family too, right? And not all the Mom and Pop shops have shut down, although I'm certain they will never make a comeback to their status in the eighties.

As for those expecting music in today's post, this is something I saw on Pitchfork yesterday that I thought was worth posting here. If you're not familiar with No Age, they're a kind-of noise punk duo that use samples occasionally in their performances. I really like them and their records, and if you're not familiar with them I suggest you check out their excellent album Nouns which is available on Amazon, iTunes and in many retail stores as they are on Sub Pop Records which is part owned by Warner Brothers.

That said, No Age recently contributed the score to a short independent film, Aanteni, and now they've made a live recording of their performance available to download for free from their website. That recording is nice but it isn't the clearest way to hear the score, so keeping with the theme of so-called adult content, the film, which is often labeled NSFW (not suitable for work, just in case you're not familiar with the acronym), although this is due to some female nudity which, if I remember correctly, isn't terribly clear to begin with, is available for online viewing. There was nothing sexual I remember about the film so if you're not into that sort of thing but would like to check it out I'm certain your sensibilities won't be offended. Links to the specific sites are below. Enjoy!

No Age's website, with the score for download

Aanteni, at NOWNESS, for your viewing pleasure


If I may say, you should really check Aanteni out, especially if you like abstract film-making or have a soft spot for Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Lou Reed - Metal Machine Music

I know, I know, how could anyone truly enjoy this? A lot of people are going to say that without ever listening to it, but most of them are correct anyways. To my friends and family though, I am seen as insane for enjoying this blast of utter chaos, and that's the best way to describe Metal Machine Music. That said, I truly do love this album, and that's a capital LOVE in bold lettering! There is simply nothing like Metal Machine Music, painful yet beautiful, I can use it to force myself awake yet it can also lull me to sleep. There aren't any words or melodies, but there are plenty of sounds and things to grasp throughout. I can't help but imagine this is what contact with an alien race might sound like. Lights and sounds not in our spectrum, terrifying yet, if you move past the horror, fascinating if not beautiful.

Metal Machine Music is understandably viewed by many as a joke. There is art there, but the joke part is understandable. Think about it, Lou Reed records a new album that his label is contractually required to release and it's nothing but noise. No vocals, no songs, nothing resembling form, just waves of feedback caused primarily by Lou placing guitars against extremely loud amplifiers and letting the feedback vibrate the strings, essentially allowing the amps to play the guitars. It almost destroyed Lou's career, and if he hadn't released Coney Island Baby as the follow-up it may have succeeded.

I'm posting this because most people haven't heard it and, if you're interested in it, you really shouldn't have to pay up front to possibly be tortured. That said, if you find yourself in love with the chaos, you should really purchase a copy. I love Lou's bizarre liner notes and packaging, which includes a completely fabricated list of equipment used to create the album. As I understand it, the list was meant to be a parody of "serious-musicians" and their want to share every bit of detail possible about the recording process.

Give this a whirl, but keep in mind it's not for everyone. It's not necessarily meant to be listened to in one full sitting. Hell, few people have even bothered to do that. I can attest that I haven't and probably couldn't, but that's not a bad thing, and it isn't that type of album. Things about it will stick in your mind. I went so far as to write a song around the locked groove at the end of Part IV, which is replicated at the end of the 2000 CD reissue which is the source of this upload. Experiment with this and you'll find yourself, at the least, intrigued. You can play the left or right channels alone, giving you, along with the stereo presentation three different ways of listening. You can also play it backwards. Play it soft, play it loud, just play it and make up your own mind. The majority may be right about Metal Machine Music, for the most part at least, but that doesn't mean it's bad, just that it's different. It really IS different!


Lou Reed - Metal Machine Music
UPDATE: Lou has just reissued Metal Machine Music via his website on vinyl, DVD and Blu-Ray. Because of that, I'm removing the album from download. If you enjoy it, please check out his website and the packages available for purchase. I got the vinyl/DVD combo which features the album's original quad mix on the DVD.