IF YOU HAVE THE
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lo, the healing properties of music. like a woven basket in which to rest a minute the load of yr over-saturated emotions. feed it frustrations, for instance, helplessness, or desperation, yearning even. and given the right song, you have yrself a soundtrack as well as a sponge to bleed into. not to mention an audible painting of yr current mood for others to witness. why talk when no one would be interested in hearing what i'm thinking about at that given moment? here's music, instead. i can bet you it's a hell of a lot prettier to listen to than me jabbering about my passing thoughts. even better, i am able to complexly express to someone my general disposition and brain state at any moment in time by playing them a particular song of my choosing. this way, i can say all the things i want to plus all those i am physically unable to say. you know, language of the soul and all that hogwash.
but what happened to just existing side-by-side with someone? i often feel these expectations for conversation. a person can't be interesting all the time. it gets mentally exhausting. well, if you'd like to hear me postulate pseudo-philosophically about why i switched from boxers to boxer-briefs--what it might say about me and my mental growth over the years; wild assumptions about my underwear's direct correlation to the desire for emotional security? yea, i don't like that one either. how about the one where i ruminate on whether or not dan aykroyd has that syndrome or whatever that disallows him from laughing naturally. he grew up without a trial & error system, yet he knows how to make other people laugh. how does he know what's funny? i mean, if you want me to say some interesting shit, just pick a topic and ask me my thoughts on it. maybe that'll get you laughing.
"duuuh, it's like, i don't know, it'sssss, shit, aaah, ok, so, i mean, it's like, he was funny as shit in coneheads, right? but, like, how? he wouldn't be able to distinguish between the humor of, like, his parents, peers or whatever and his own humor when growing up, meaning he wouldn't be able to compile the internal, subconscious list of tiny attributes of certain brands of humor that are funny to him and not to others, but he clearly must have! and then he'd, like, have to assign a fabricated laugh to specific humor, and fabricate laughter in awkward situations for jokes he doesn't find funny but feels socially obligated to 'laugh' at, fuck. i mean, fuuuck, dude. tough life, this guy. and he becomes a fucking comedian."
i'll try my best to say a few words. the first couple albums are ones i've been spinning for at least awhile that i think all humans should be forced to listen to, whereas the last couple are albums i've very recently come across/come to enjoy and found to be jam buffets (regardless of how "classic" they may be, i'm posting them for the benefit of those who have yet to learn of their majesty). all humans should be forced to listen to them too.
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keelhaul knows a thing or two about choosing when to speak. they're fellow clevelanders. lifers, too, from the looks of it. older bunch of gentlemen, you might say. this album is their fourth LP and cleverly titled "keelhaul's triumphant return to obscurity." clever because the band is sufficiently endowed (musically), but they're heralding their homecoming to an empty room. aaah, self-deprication: funny when off-base. fantastic riffage right and left. quite impressive drumming to be heard. he employs awesome irregularities and the syncopation of a jazz-trained musician. and the first track is vokill-less, as is the third and a few other songs on the album. i'd say i really enjoy this decision the band's made--to only include vocals when they find it essential to the enjoyment of their music. plus, the vocals range from diesel-fueled declarations to harsh cries of embitterment. really inventive stoner/sludge guitar work with bits of math-rock and "progressive" frills. definitely not a stoner/sludge band. they have too much attitude to them. but moments of gentle melody. not sure how else to explain it. personal problems embedded in the chords they choose and the song structures. there's a lot of rock in it, too. maybe that's what it is. but then rock gets struck with rust-belt sewer-plates. the drummer throws out sweeping handfuls of jacks while the guitars slide, grate, and belch out weed-reeking beer foam into bags of potato chips. have a listen and imagine drinking a case of milwaukee's best under a decrepit train-bridge with yr closest mate, taking pisses in acid rain. this album sounds like growing up in cleveland.
pass the soggy gutterspliff.
keelhaul's triumphant return to obscurity (2009)
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i mentioned in a previous post the musical wonderment that's been seeping from the underbelly of virginia these days. a dear pal of mine from richmond (the good sir, juan memo jarrott) turned me on to the catalyst a year or two back with an EP called "marianas trench." then a few months ago, the catalyst released their first LP, "swallow your teeth." giving it to you short, sweet, and lowdown: the catalyst kills it. grungy pothead-punk transported from the '90s. whatever-the-fuck. all these fucking genres that begin meaning next to nothing as more and more bands do their own thing and the music gets referred to like the members sat around with a magnifying glass and a checklist creating a micro-specific conglomerate comprised of stylistic hundredths. all that matters is the catalyst plays fantastic music that can be placed under the punk/hardcore umbrella. they also write spot-on extended segments that could be soundtracks for stupefyingly beautiful deep-sea exploration. and the award for "best breakdowns by a band" in 2009 goes to...
marianas trench EP (2007)
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swallow your teeth (2009)
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what could you imagine a band named brainoil to sound like? well, it's probably about right. or when you hear this album you'll realize only a band named brainoil could've done this. released it in 2003, haven't been active for quite some time, but recently played two shows in their home state of california. interestingly enough, i don't think enough punks and metallers know about this absolute gem. also, a number of people for whom i've played brainoil have been expressing interest as of late, which is strange considering they've also announced (sort of on the hush, for some reason) that new material is in the works. holy shit am i excited. i've been waiting years for brainoil to come out of hibernation wielding new cuts of punishing sludge. total three-piece mastery. this here is seven HEAVY, blues-infused, shit-crusted battering-rams that set fire to all yr bongzilla records. prepare for irresistible banging of the noggin. this is one of my all-time favorite records.
brainoil (2003)
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hadn't heard of ghoul before seeing their name on the flyer for one of those two brainoil shows i mentioned (the one in oakland that happened october 30th). my god, how i wish i could've been there for that. just seeing brainoil would've been enough, but to also see ghoul and cannabis corpse in the same night? fuck. and then brainoil played december 11th in san francisco with eyehategod and stormcrow. shit. alright, well, ghoul. i guess the identities of the members were initially intended on being kept a secret (they play with sacks over their heads) but that shit leaked, obviously. stacked with heavy-hitting punk/metal musicians (for example: dino from dystopia/asunder/wolves in the throne room and ross from phobia/ludicra/impaled/wolves in the throne room). i think they're really into comics. one of those metal bands with humorous gore leanings. super-tight, straight-up thrash metal with the occasional funny vocal element. "maniaxe" is their second LP and i think my favorite of three (the other two being 2002's "we came for the dead!!!" and 2006's "splatterthrash"). i have a hard time finding all-around pleasing metal records, and it's nice to be able to add another band's discography to my regular rotation. listen to "maniaxe" and choke on some thrash this x-mas.
maniaxe (2003)
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i don't listen to much texan musical output (pretty much limited to townes van zandt, the sword, the strange boys, spazm 151, and true widow), but i recently stumbled across really red. don't know too much about them, nor do i feel like unpacking all their attributes here. way too much to potentially say. let's leave it at this: punks from houston who started playing in the late '70s. they put out a couple singles, two LPs, a live EP and this 7". get a hold of their first full-length "teaching you the fear" (1981). or all their stuff. as i said before, i don't know how much influence really red had on the punk/hardcore world, but from my ignorant vantage, it seems like a lot of punk/hardcore bands have this EP lodged in their subconscious when writing songs. really red. good tunes.
new strings for old puppets EP (1982)
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remember flipping through records at the store and casually passing over a celtic frost LP? oh, i forgot. millions of people were casually passing over "morbid tales" because they already owned it and i was just disregarding celtic frost out of total stupidity. this record alone should prove to my younger brother that the '80s spawned some amazing music. if you want to hear a bunch of swiss dudes laying down the foundation for countless metal bands to come, listen to "morbid tales." incipient black metal/death 'n roll. thick-ass chords, hoof-stomping drums. listen to this. listen to this. download this, goddamnit.
morbid tales (1984)
i wish all an acrid holiday full of face-biting gales and solitary meanderings. get me something.
