Newer Sounds

For fans of drugs. Or if you're like me. For fans of music that sounds like it was made with drugs.

Great Ytene - Unknowing. iTunes.

LIHC

Just the other day me and my friend were making references to Long Island Hardcore of yesteryear.

I mentioned Milhouse as a personal favorite.

Milhouse - Obscenity In the Milk. Mike. Used.

Newer Sounds

Still undecided on this one.

Grass House - And Now For the Wild. iTunes.

Covers

Do you know who never shied away from a cover? Girls Aloud, that's who.

Girls Aloud - I'll Stand By You. amazon.com. Used.

Newer Sounds

I forgot about this purchase. I'm glad this post prompted a re-listen. Very worth it.

Cantaloupe - Splish/Wet Dog. iTunes.

Zoolander

Mugatu as the keyboard player in Frankie Goes to Hollywood? Never.

Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Relax. amazon.com. Used.

Newer Sounds

This trends a little "rockabilly" for my tastes.

Maybe not for yours.

The Amazing Snakeheads - Testifying Time/The Truth Serum. iTunes.

Bandcamp

Catalyst Records has been putting their discography up on Bandcamp. This is a good thing for those of us that are nineties obsessive.

Birthright - Out of Darkness... Generation Records. Used.

Newer Sounds

I can't decide what I think about this. Like, but not wowed. But enough to seek out more.

Austra - Home. iTunes.

Crust

This always felt like such a crusty release.

Spitboy/Los Crudos. Mike. Used.

Newer Sounds

Who knew, Cold Shoulder is also a straight edge band. Thanks last.fm!

Worlds colliding.

Cold Shoulder - Lucifer. iTunes.

Digipak

I like American Standard. But I always felt like they were a strange band to get the Another Planet digipak treatment.

Not that this post is about the digipak release.

American Standard - Piss & Vinegar. Generation Records. Used.

Newer Sounds

When posting I sometimes need to go back and give some of these new purchases a second listen to remind me what they sound like.

Generally that's a pretty good indication it didn't grab me the first time.

Sometimes they grab me on that second listen.

This one isn't grabbing me now. Or then.

T.W.I.N.S. - Found a Flat/Ride the Horsey. iTunes.

Guilt

It's not really fair to Trapped Under Ice to refer to them as a guilty pleasure, because they're a pretty great band. But I can't help but think of them as a little bit of a guilty pleasure.

And I can't be bothered to dig out the discs for photo purposes. So thank you Reaper Records for letting me yank the images from your site. Not that I asked.

(Lazy.)

Trapped Under Ice - Stay Cold. Reaper Records. New.

Trapped Under Ice - Secrets of the World. Reaper Records. New.

Newer Sounds

I enjoy the way last.fm links Teleman to the composer of a similar name.

Teleman - Cristina. iTunes.

First Three

Travis played recently. I didn't go. Maybe I should have. I really enjoyed them live when I saw them many years ago.

I'm current with their releases. But nothing has ever stuck with me like the first three albums.

Those first three albums are a pretty solid one, two, three and bands go. And aging well.

Travis - Sing (Single 1). amazon.com. Used.

Newer Sounds

I liked what I had read about H. Hawkline.

I didn't like what I heard after purchasing H. Hawkline.

But now that I'm giving it a re-listen, I like it a lot more.

Perhaps I wasn't in the right frame of mind when I first gave it a listen.

It happens.

H. Hawkline - Black Domino Box. iTunes.

Old

In retrospect I probably should have stuck around This Is Hardcore and watched Kid Dynamite. But I had seen them a lot in the past. And I'm old. And it was late.

Which is a terrible excuse because I think they're a few years older than me.

Kid Dynamite. Mike. Used.

Newer Sounds

I didn't know much about this band, but looked forward to the pre-order arriving in my iTunes based on the Rough Trade blurb I had read.

It did not disappoint. I look forward to buying up everything else out there.

Childhood - Solemn Skies. iTunes.

Go Vegan!

In retrospect, Culture is one of the better "vegan conscious" bands of the era. Although I listened to them far less than Earth Crisis, Chokehold, Birthright, Raid, Vegan Reich, etc.

In fact, I listen to them a lot more now than I ever did then.

Culture - Born of You. Mike. Used.

Newer Sounds

I tend to assume all Pennsylvania hardcore is from Philadelphia or Wilkes-Barre (except for Brother's Keeper of course). I know it isn't. But that didn't stop me from assuming Hounds of Hate were from Philadelphia when I first saw that they were from Pennsylvania.

Wrong.

Western PA.

Hounds of Hate. Painkiller Records. New.

Video Time Sink

I'll often watch Die Antwoord videos over and over. I'll sometimes lose an hour or so doing so.

I'm currently obsessed with "Baby's On Fire."

Die Antwoord - Ekstra. amazon.com. Used.

Newer Sounds

Originally I was going to write about how I don't own a lot of music from Belgium. Then I realized I have a pretty sizable collection of Front 242 and more than a handful of Belgian hardcore releases.

So now I'll add some indie rock to the list.

Bed Rugs - Blinds. iTunes.

Hundreds (OK, Maybe Not)

Every time I think I'm catching up on these posts, I scroll down my "acquisition list" and realize a have well over one hundred entries remaining.

But enough of that.

Even though I don't listen to a ton of Converge anymore, I can still remember the feeling of excitement I had hearing Petitioning the Empty Sky for the first time. "The Saddest Day." What an opener.

Converge - Petitioning the Empty Sky. Mike. Used.

Newer Sounds

I'll put this under the "newer sounds" banner, despite being from 2011.

It's French. Always a sucker for anything French. Although not as much of a sucker as I am for anything England/Ireland/Scotland/Wales.

But the French things tend to be more interesting.

Lescop. iTunes.

Mother Russia

I recommend diving into the interesting world that is Russian pop. My knowledge is limited, but since deciding to seek it out a year or so ago, I've come across some really great acts. Tesla Boy is one of the best.

Tesla Boy - Rebecca. iTunes.

Newer Sounds

The end of The Libertines created a void in my life. This is the kind of band that fills that void.

Palma Violets - 180. amazon.com. Used.

Together

I really hate that one of the "big" Bryan Ferry hits packages is a Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music greatest hits.

Not that it really matters as I attempt to buy up the studio discographies of both. But I am not a fan of a band/solo combination greatest hits.

Bryan Ferry - Boys and Girls. amazon.com. Used.

Newer Sounds

I've only recently "discovered" this band. I posted one of their singles a few months ago.

They already have a second album out! Here's the first.

Concrete Knives - Be Your Own King. amazon.com. Used.

Poor Form

I'm usually pretty good about pre-ordering Erasure and Erasure-related releases. I was about two years late on this one.

Andy Bell - Non-Stop. amazon.com. Used.

Newer Sounds

That lovely mix of dark, poppy, post-punk.

The vocals are classically eighties. This is a good thing in my world.

Night Engine. iTunes.

New Old

I'm a sucker for "new" old singles. Slap a new date on a single and I'm buying.

Headhunter 2000: Part 1 - amazon.com. Used.

Newer Sounds

A "goth" throwback? "Post-punk?"I don't know. That works for me. I'm sure there's a much better description out there. Whatever. I'm into it.

Partly Faithful - The Beehive. iTunes.

Lazy! Cheap!

I'm a little disappointed that I haven't managed to see Echo & The Bunnymen the few times they've been here in recent history. Laziness/cheapness always win.

Echo & The Bunnymen - Porcupine. amazon.com. Used.

Newer Sounds

Of course I enjoy the Swedish pop sounds of Club 8.

I don't enjoy thinking of S Club 7 every time I see their name.

Club 8 -  I'm Not Gonna Grow Old. iTunes.

Overkill

I own every Culture Club studio release. I'm not sure why I felt the need to purchase a "best of."

Culture Club - The Best of Culture Club. amazon.com. Used.

Newer Sounds (To Me At Least)

I had been reading about the Islet LP. They sounded interesting. And they're Welsh. So of course I was going to check them out. I ended up buying something cheaper and older on iTunes.

There's something about this release that reminds me of The Beta Band. A band I run hot and cold on. But I'm really enjoying this.

Islet - Celebrate This Place. iTunes.

O Canada

I feel them slowly slipping into obscurity, but Chokehold are a nineties favorite.

I was supposed to see them once. But the show was shut down.

So I never got to see them.

Which is a shame, because I don't see a reunion anywhere on the horizon.

Chokehold - Content With Dying. Mike. Used.

Newer Sounds

When I first read about Dirty Beaches I thought I'd be really into them.

I'm not.

That can always change. But right now? No.

Dirty Beaches - Lonely Runner/Stye Eye. iTunes.

Rare?

I'm probably remembering this wrong.

But I seem to recall this record being very sought after at some point.

Converge - Halo In a Haystack. Mike. Used.

Newer Sounds

The name Haraket sounds like it should belong to a screamy hardcore band on Gravity.

But it's not.

It's a pretty great band out of the UK that I saw mentioned in a blurb about King Krule (also great).

Haraket - Taint & Attgo. iTunes.

Confessions

I never really bothered with Sleater-Kinney until Portlandia aired.

True story.

Sleater-Kinney. Mike. Used.

Newer Sounds

In the past few months I've purchased new releases from Forest and Forrests. That's just a little confusing.

Forest - Sweetcure EP. iTunes.

DIY

There was a period of time where I was obsessed with Gravity. Like Ebullition, some releases have aged better than others. I think Antioch Arrow holds up fairly well.

I always loved the super DIY feel of most of the releases, particularly the vinyl. The Lady Is a Cat is no exception.

Antioch Arrow - The Lady Is a Cat. Mike. Used.

Newer Sounds

Based on nothing, I had fairly low expectations for Virginia Wing.

How wrong I was. It's really great. It has that nineties vibe that I loved in the nineties. And that I'm currently loving during this "revival."

Virginia Wing - Red Sails. iTunes.

Favs

My favorite Youth of Today release.

And as much as I love Shelter, probably my favorite Cappo release.

While I'm at it, one of my top five favorite Revelation releases.

Youth of Today.

Newer Sounds

If you're as 4AD obsessive as I am, then this is for you.

Still Corners - Hearts of Fools. iTunes.

You And

Cathy really likes You and I. I think there are a lot of people that really like You and I. This seven inch might have been the first time I really listened to them.

You and I - The First Seven Inch. Mike. Used.

Stereolab

With an appearance by Laetitia Sadier? I'm buying.

Lisbonne - Eden Plage. iTunes.

Age

It took becoming an adult for me to really appreciate Endpoint.

I couldn't tell you why.

Endpoint - The Last Record. Mike. Used.