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In my last post, I wrote about an incredibly rare album that I’d been seeking for an incredibly long time and, while I was happy to find it, I was bothered by a lot of what I saw on that particular blog. Now, I’d like to show you a blog that I think shows respect to the artists and music posted and, at the same time, provide some links to my favorite finds.
JOE STUMBLE’s Last Days of Man on Earth blog has heart and mind in the right place. Stumble is very conscientious about the music he posts. He mainly sticks to ridiculously rare items that haven’t been and aren’t likely to be reissued. In cases where the music is available for sale, he won’t post it; rather, he provides a link to buy it. This moral and ethical high road has my utmost respect and should provide a basis for all music bloggers to follow.
Here are some releases that I’ve sought for many, many years that I’ve finally been able to enjoy through Mr. Stumble’s efforts. Thank you, Joe!
THE COWS – Taint Pluribus, Taint Unum
The Cows’ legendary first album! In an interview with MARK PRINDLE, vocalist SHANNON SELBERG states that it’s very unlikely to ever be reissued, which is a real shame, as it’s a damn good debut! The Cows are at their most chaotic and noisy here, but the songs are strong and easily hold up when compared to later Cows albums. KEVIN RUTMANIS’ bass playing is low and sleazy as ever, and THOR EISENTRAGER’s guitar has the controlled insanity of the later BLACK FLAG albums. Drummer SANDRIS RUTMANIS somehow holds it all together. If you’ve never heard The Cows, this is a great place to start – then go buy all their albums from AMREP. If you’re an old fan who’s been dying to hear this forever, enjoy!
THE DICKS – Kill From the Heart
Apparently, the master tapes to this classic hardcore album are lost, so a proper reissue is unlikely in the foreseeable future. I know I was pretty disappointed by the 1980-1986 collection released by ALTERNATIVE TENTACLES years ago, as it only had a few songs from this blues-punk monster. For my money, I’d gladly buy a CD reissue of KFTH that was mastered from vinyl, but, hey, Joe Stumble has done the next best thing. While the title track is one of my favorite hardcore songs EVER, there are plenty of great songs here, including a powerful cover of THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE’s “Puple Haze.” Take that, you Hendrix-hating street punks!
Back from Samoa by THE ANGRY SAMOANS was the first punk album I ever bought (along with the CIRCLE JERKS live album, Gig) and RICHARD MELTZER is basically the reason I’m a rock writer, so any band combining the two was a must-hear for me. Actually, Vom were pre-Samoans, featuring Meltzer on vocals, GREGG TURNER on co-vocals and METAL MIKE SAUNDERS as the drummer. Their sound was just good old LA punk rock, with a healthy, dumb STOOGES vibe that came out in songs like “I’m in Love with Your Mom” and “Electrocute Your Cock.” This one’s a real treasure.
Since I’d been exploring and writing about these blogs, I decided to launch my own, Mr Phreek’s Anokist Emporium. It’s mostly to document my own musical career, but I’m also posting other people’s music with their consent (the moral and ethical high road, you know). Stop by and say hello!
