After surrendering Jones Very, Vic Bondi soldiered on by enlisting Colin Sears (drums) and Roger Marbury (bass) from Dag Nasty to form Alloy.
Vic calls Eliminate “…arguably the best thing I ever did.” AOF fans might differ but listen carefully. Hear the harshness that suffuses this entire record even in the ballads. Hear how abrasive fury bleeds into sadness between opening track “Alloy” and the second, “Unafraid”. Hear how razor-thin the line is between personal regret (“More Alone With You”) and political regret (“An Advertisement”). It’s enough to make you scream; and Vic does. Continuously.
But seventeen years later Vic re-appeared (with the mighty J. Robbins from Government Issue, Jawbox and Burning Airlines in tow) as Report Suspicious Activity because, as he put it, “…the next impeachment needs a soundtrack” Also, Vic kicked ass in American Hardcore (he states the thesis at the start plus he gets two quotes and a song into the preview).
Jones Very followed up the blistering Words and Days with 1991’s Radio Wave a “...live disc, pulled from two radio broadcasts at college stations in Boston. JV used to dump songs we heard on the radio into the set. There are two here: “Thankufalettinmebemiceelfagin” by Sly and the Family Stone, and Immigrant Song by Zep” says Vic Bondi on his website. The covers are not the highlight, that honour belongs to the full-throttle freak-out that is “Becket” – listen to Bondi scorch the earth as he shrieks “This is not my racket/ No, it’s Becket’s”. Like a Peel Session this album captures the band in that fiery point between studio and live performance and hence shows Jones Very at full strength.
Bitzcore has a few copies left of this album so if you like - go to support a label who actually paid Vic. (When I ordered this CD as well as AOF 's Core from them over the phone in 1991 they gave me a discount for being, in their own German-accented words, “a really big Vic Bondi fan.”
The record collection got divided up after he disappeared.The collection, each piece with its own clear plastic sleeve, lived in a closet with wooden sliding doors. It was small, seventy-five LP’s and a few dozen singles but packed with the unknown.
“You wanna hear some culture?” the collection’s curator would say, flashing his smiley-face grin, before dropping a black platter under the diamond needle and then gently lowering the clear plastic dust cover. Garbled, tinny anger burst forth. I listened while poring over the sleeves.
For a twelve-year old Pink Floyd fan in the early eighties, it was like an unheard subterranean culture cracked open wide in that messy suburban room full of gig posters, Mad magazines and music, music, music.
The albums (other than Iron Maiden’s Piece of Mind hidden at the back) were so unusual as to not seem like records at all but more like placards. Each stark cover, whether made-up of cut-up stock photos, primitive drawings or merely a spraypaint-ready logo, carried blunt words - Wargasm, The Blood, The Freeze, Flex Your Head, Articles of Faith. The first album in the box ,with its bloody Christmas image, always stopped me.
Since the curator was a lender, I eventually wedged the unrelenting fury of that album, Give Thanks by Chicago's Articles of Faith, into my knapsack.
Give Thanks starts with a scream and a drum explosion. Than it gets mad, as “I Objectify” proves. If anything, the acoustic track “Every Man for Himself” intensifies the unrelenting attack on American Excess. Next, however non-chronologically, came the "What We Want is Free” 7"which unleashed a gut-churning fury that does not fade with time.
I followed singer/songwriter/guitarist VicBondi through the anguished and punishingAOF swan song, In This Life. Then Vic quieted down till 1989’s Words and Days by his next band Jones Very (with Jeff Goddard on bass and James Van Braemar on drums). Words and Days has sparse packaging but is packed full of Vic’s raspy howl and electric and acoustic guitars that join the screaming chorus. “Yesterday in the Western World” is the fist-waver, “Desperation Bends” the ballad, “Jesus…I” the tense builder and "Cut' will do just that - listen with caution because the intensity is relentless.
As for me, I will hear no more culture from the curator because he ended his own life but what he played – stayed. For that, I’ll give thanks and continue to curate.
“I'd rather lose a train of thought than keep it on one track.”
Vic Bondi
Vic Bondi never followed the easy way but unlike Bob Mould and Ian Mckaye he got scant credit for ground broken. In 1991, Jones Very (they were named after an American clergyman and poet and contemporary of Emerson) released a lean, raw and primal e.p. called Trains of Thought. The clash of noise and melody would get driven into the ground in the ninties but listen to how, long before all that, the sudden folk-rock flourishes on “Ideas New Tomorrow” and “Fugitive Time” create a roaring contrast with the Vic’s sandpaper vocals and roughshod guitar.
There are three figures I check obsessively here: number of comments, number of visits and number of downloads. The combination of those things is a big part of how I choose what goes up next. While in the end I cover what I love (I finished my series about American hardcore legend Vic Bondi in the face of almost complete indifference), the length of time I stay in any place and the frequency by which I return there is often decided by comments, visitors and downloads.
So, in terms of downloads and comments, here's what has generated the greatest response:
12. Joe Jackson - The Harder They Come ~ 421 D/L's (I trust RapidShare's numbers less than Mediafire's.) A brilliant little piece of work by JJ that is just begging for re-issue in some form and which I was pleased to remind people of. Comments: 28 (Coming on the heels of my biggest hissy-fit about not getting comments, this one generated a strong discussion about whether or not Jackson's later career was 'thorny'.)
10 Graham Parker Live at Marble Arch460 D/L's My series on Graham Parker was big on all three of my metrics - plus I love writing about GP. Comments: six (overall a great series for comments - one of which may well have been from Mr. Parker himself.)
9. Multitude of Sins - The Dylan Mass~ 460 D/L's (but someone set up a mirror - whatever that is - without asking me so that might have kept the numbers lower.) True, such mellow, acoustic music is a bit outside of my mission here but that said: Comments: 4 (A bit dispiriting, as this deserved an infinitely better response.)
8. Talking Heads - Memories Can't Wait -472 D/L's A surprise but welcome hit in the D/L department... Comments: 4 (for those keeping score that's well-below a 1% rate of return on D/L's.)
7. D.I.Y Anarchy in the UK512 D/L's With a line up including every great '77 punk band (minus list-favourites The Clash) how could this comp go wrong? Comments: 8 (Decent till you recall that Blogger counts my own responses in the final tally.)
6. Parker/Pierson/Janovitz - A Tribute to the Beatles520 D/L's A low-key release that probably saw a schwack of boomers here on their first and last visit. Comments:7 (which considering the brevity of the post was okay.)
5. The Dik Van Dykes - Nobody Likes... ~543 d/l's (243 now and at least three hundred on MassMirror) Canadian funny-punk band that I'm proud as hell to have spread around the world (re-up coming sooner or later). Comments: 48 ( Best response ever - even beating the 41 commenters who took on my idea of Husker Du being the Great American Band - and it included a few encouraging comments from the band's front-man, Dik.)
4. Bob Dylan - Let My Poor Voice Be heard544 D/L's Pixel-stained wretches enjoy writing about Dylan WAY too much and our reward: Comments: 3 (Dylan fans are the absolute best for visits but the pits for comments.).
3. The Clash - Out of Control (The Alternate Cut the Crap)722 D/L's It's cool that something that helps a tiny bit to rehabilitate the much-reviled Cut The Crap (and all of the Clash items in this list are CTC-related) has generated such unexpectedly huge numbers! Comments: 12 (and many of 'em were sharp!)
1. The Clash - 12" mixes877 D/L's Unstoppable, which is a little odd considering it is almost strictly for completists. Comments: 7 (Well it was at the tail end of a long series of Clash posts - Clash fans are still my favourite to write for!)
Usually I ask for comments about the music itself but for this time I'm gonna ask you: What was MRML's best post?
As I said in the Albums of the Year post (see HERE), this list cannot claim much omniscience but rather it just offers my perspective on the kind of undervalued but ferociously alive releases that the big name lists tend to ignore.
Our second BotY list covers all those EP's and singles not applicable for that "Best Underappreciated Albums That Rocked 2012" (see HERE). As usual, this list is heavy on the punk and pop-punk heavy 'cuz punk bands have always had a thing for short, explosive releases.
(All artist name links go directly to a homepage - or some such place - for your further listening pleasure.)
1. Channel 3 - Land of the Free EP
A viscous comeback by Cerritos, California's CH3 (more HERE), who have kept at it for thirty years just for the love of loud n' fast rock and anthemic song-wring!
2. Max Levine Ensemble - Elephant in the Room EP
Washington D.C.'S Max Levine Ensemble (more HERE), a quirky loud-guitar band beloved in the pop-punk community, put out what might be their best single this year.
3. Japandroids - House that Heaven Built 7" Celebration Rock by Vancouver's Japandroids was huge on indie-rock-based lists, which is fitting because with songs like 'The House that Heaven Built', a loud, fuzzy anthem, they deserved some damn accolades.
4. Kurt Baker - Want You Around EP
Portland power-pop-punk Kurt Baker (more HERE) keeps racking up the hits (his album Brand New Beat would've been on my Albums of the Year list if I'd had more room).
5. Will Hoge - Modern American Protest Songs EP
A rough country-rock attack on American indifference by Nashville misfit, Will Hoge (more HERE).
6. The Street Dogs - G.O.P. 7"
A sing-along street-punk attack on the Grand Old Party (courtesy of British Oi! band, Menace) by The Street Dogs (more HERE), a Boston-based off-shoot of the Dropkick Murphys.
7. Dead Ending - Self-Titled EP
Some might call Dead Ending (more HERE), featuring Rise Against bassist Joe Principe, Alkaline Trio drummer Derek Grant,
The Bomb and Noise By Numbers guitarist Jeff Dean and Articles of Faith
singer Vic Bondi,
a Chicago punk super group but judging from
this furious E.P, they're really more of a celebration of the joy of rage.
8. Capitalist Kids - Sarah/Ayn 7"
T'was a big year for political singles and Austin, Texas's Capitalist Kids (more HERE) knew they had to go big and consequently went after two movement conservative babes, Sarah Palin and Ayn Rand who's influence in right wing circles subsequently declined - COINCIDENCE?
9. Big Eyes - Back From the Moon 7"
On this single, Seattle punk/pop band Big Eyes (more HERE) puts
the hooks and the crunch together just so, in a decidedly Fastbacks-ian manner
10. Teenage Bottlerocket - Joy Division 7"
Wyoming pop-punkers Teenage Bottlerocket (more HERE) branch out by effectively covering two less-known tracks by Manchester's favourite doom merchants, Joy Division.
11. The Dahlmanns - Dumb Me Down 7"
Norway's Lords of Punk-Powereed-Pop, The Dahlmanns (more HERE) just go from strength to strength!
12. House Boat - 21st Century Breakroom 10"
This concept 10" jumps from brilliant idea to brilliant idea to dizzying effect - far and away their best release (more HERE)
13. The Swingin' Utters - The Librarians are Hiding Something
Punk rock + librarians = Utter perfection (more on San Francisco's Swingin' Utters HERE)
14. TV Smith - Dangerous Playground EP
Just when this four-song'er, recorded to accompany a German play, threatens to be a minor entry in Englishman TV Smith's (more HERE) catalog along comes the anthemic "The Rock n' Roll" to blow you away.
15. The Mockers: Man of la Mancha EP
Long-running Virginia band The Mockers (more HERE) are a straight-up power-pop with a weakness for show tunes and political satire.
While I'm sure I missed some great little releases, that covers almost everything - EXCEPT YOUR VOICE!
Did you hear anything you liked on this list? What wold make your list of best singles/E.P's of 2012? LET US KNOWIN THE COMMENTS SECTION!!
With Rise Against bassist Joe Principe, Alkaline Trio drummer Derek Grant, The Bomb and Noise By Numbers guitarist Jeff Dean and Articles of Faith singer Vic Bondi some might call Dead Ending a punk rock super group but that's not the point at all. Judging from the furious sample of the forthcoming E.P., this new group is going to be all about the joy of rage. Watch out!
Lance Hahn died almost three years ago. When I think of Lance, and I often do, a thousand things come to mind: post-modernism, kidney disease, Maximumrocknroll, record shopping, Hawaii, Tikki Tikki Tembo, The East Bay, Lookout Records, black and white anarchists, Winnie the Pooh, feminism, E.L.O., “The Churchies” and of course a recklessly torrent of vinyl that caused Lance himself to utter, “A lot of people write trying to keep track of all the fucking records we put out. I can't even remember."
I go through musical phases. I obsess over artists with a fanatic devotion to their own peculiar worldview, often at the expense of precise musicianship and commercial gain, people like TV Smith, Vic Bondi, Dr. Frank and as evidenced by this blog hundreds more . While such artists work with chords and couplets, they seem like novelists to me because of the narrative weight of their oeuvre.These obsessions of mine wax and wane and years later I’ll sit up and say, “Didn’t I own TV Smith’s first solo album and then sell it?” I've had a few Lance phases. The first was when I first fell under the spell of Lookout Records (I still have that yellow catalog when Lawrence Livermore said of the first Green Day single, “If this is "pop" then I say "yay!" let's fill up the top 40 airwaves with it”). Lance’s band, Cringer, had begun a stunning run of singles (the less said about their lone album – named after the touching children's story Tikki Tikki Tembo - the better) all of which I tracked down.
I saw Cringer in Minneapolis opening for Citizen Fish (Dick Lucas of the Subhumans, Culture Shock and Citizen Fish is another of those fanatically devoted artists). Lance and I ended up going record shopping together with some other Minneapolis folk. At Oarfolkjokeopus (take that spell check!) Lance bought an LP by The Ex and some metal album (though maybe I’m just remembering the Iron Maiden patch on his jean jacket). Lance proved to be another record geek and we all laughed the afternoon away.
I followed Lance's next group, J Church (still a pop-punk band but Pixiefied), at first but got lost in the discographical perversity. After the slow-grower Quetzalcoatl and the weaker Prophylaxis, I came to the glib conclusion that Lance was a singles artist. In a review for a now-forgotten band, Lance confessed that he’d been trying to write the perfect pop song (a dangerous confession in the pages of the staunchly underground Maximumrocknroll). I thought, “Really?” Then came (for me), the one-two punch of the over-stuffed singles comp, Nostalgic for Nothing (which held some of the greatest songs of that era period) and the first of the “British” albums, Arbor Vitae. Here was Lance (and his long-time partner Gardner) reaching for that perfection. Of course they missed but their greatest failures were filled with blazes of noise, which would all of a sudden melt away and reveal a shining chorus awash in melancholy and analysis. I stocked up on all those J Church album. (Appropriately, I bought up a stack on a visit to Berkley). Then the disappointing One Mississippi and the silences that followed Lance’s health problems caused me to lose track once again. Another singles comp (Meaty, Beatty, Shitty Sounding) brought Lance back into focus, as did the news that his health was failing.
I’ve never converted too many people to J Church but one friend fell in love with Cat Food another of those "British" album (it's the Brits who, for no clear reason, nicknamed them 'The Churchies') . That friend suffers from “kidney problems” as well. Except he has lived most of his life with no functioning kidneys at all. Space, and decency, do not allow for a description of the horrors of surgeries, dialysis and the wrenching decision to take the transplant. Of that, thus-far unsuccessful transplant, he remarked, with characteristic understatement, “Having a kidney is overrated.” Those blood infections that took Lance haunt my friend as well and our visits are rare and brief - we listen to music (sometimes it's those E.L.O. covers from Meaty, Beatty…) and talk in digressions. I hope he’ll get to hear some J Church today. And you will too and maybe you’ll lend a hand to Lance’s family and one of your own friends who is ailing.
In the image below Lance himself explains the nature of this long out-of-print compilation:
Link for J Church: The Ecstasy of Communication is in the Comments
Speaking of comments, What's your favorite Lance song or moment?
MRML is a blog about the devestating effects of culture: music, politics, comics plus etc. blah blah blah. At times MRML will post fine, unpurchasable three-chord obscurica (punk, pop-punk, new wave, mod, power-pop, gospel, reggae, hardcore, rockabilly, folk, country...whatever.) - - - - - - "The otherwise unavailable files in this blog are posted for a limited time and are intended for educational, non-commercial use. These files were transcribed from what are believed to be out-of-print sources. If you are aware of any of these items being readily available from commercial sources, or if any of these files infringe upon rights that you hold, please notify us so that we can quickly remove the referenced items immediately." - - - SUPPORT THE ARTISTS - BUY MUSIC!
If you have any questions or music to donate you can contact me at musicruinedmylife (at) gmail (dot) com
Re: Re-Ups
MRML does not plan to restore all of the content lost in The Great Mediafire Gutting of 2012. Polite requests may be made in the appropriate section, regular commenters will get priority.
Self-Titled
