Available in Low-Fi (64 kbps) and Hi-Fi (192 kbps)
Playlist:
Tommy Jay Band - Winter Nomad
From Tommy Jay's Tall Tales of Trauma
Mike Rep & The Quotas - Just For Lies
From A Tree Stump Named Desire
U.S. Girls - Red Ford Radio
From Go Grey (out 2/02 on Siltbreeze)
Axemen - You, You Cabinet
From Scary Part III
Alpaca Brothers - The Lie
From Legless EP
Chrome - Half Machine Lip Moves (excerpt)
From Half Machine Lip Moves
The Dead C - Stand
From New Electric Music
Robert Pollard - Wild Girl
From We All Got Out of The Army (out 2/23 on GBV, Inc.)
Home - Gotta Quit That Crack
From Home VII
Pavement - Our Singer
From Slanted & Enchanted
Gibson Bros. - Bin Pine Boogie
From Build A Raft CS
The Beakers - Red Towel
From The Red Towel 7"
Iggy Pop & James Williamson - No Sense of Crime
From Kill City
V-3 - Son of Sam Donaldson
From Live '97
(thanks to foreverlowman)
Velvet Underground - Ride Into The Sun (Demo)
From Loaded: Fully Loaded Edition
The Shadow Ring - City Lights
Life Review 1993 - 2003
Featuring a live "in-studio" performance from Viceroy.
"Neighboring States"
Featuring:
Steve N - Guitar, Tapes, Sampler
Derek W - Drums
Dylan C - Keyboard, Percussion
Kevin W - Piano, Synth
Jack R - Percussion
Decrepit Tapes Podcast #1
Un - Un Plays The Non-Hits For You CS (1996)
One (Un) is a group featuring Marcia Bassett (Double Leopards), Tara Burke (Fursaxa), Grant Acker, and Tom Roach. They had two releases on the Siltbreeze label before disbanding in 1999.
The cassette release has two side-long practices that are actually worth hearing. Messy and incoherent, UN sounds as if recording only takes place after long bouts of sleep deprivation, but few can match the utter desolation of this deceptively simple music.
Thanks to the original uploader on Indie Torrents for ripping this gem
The Double - Palm Fronds (2004)
Sometime after the release of their debut LP and Palm Fronds, the Double began drinking from the same mercury-tainted well as Animal Collective and Black Dice. Replacing the bluesy math rock (if that's possible) of Loose Crochet is a heavily corroded singer/songwriter album, bathed in echo and acid, and carried along by left for dead samplers and drum machines. The change in direction is due in part to the addition of two new members; Donald Beaman and Jacob Morris joined the core duo of drummer Jeff McLeod and guitarist David Greenhill after the release of Loose Crochet. But the biggest reason for the change might be due to an accident. Just before the band was set to record their second LP, McLeod hurt is hand so badly that he could not play drums. But instead of postponing the sessions, the band decided to go forward using electronics instead of live drums. And, remarkably, it worked. Palm Fronds sounds nothing like a band playing with a handicap. Rather, the drum machines and other gadgets fit perfectly and naturally into the songs. It never sounds like a compromise. The songs sound fully as if this is the way they are supposed to sound. Obviously the band rethought their entire approach to music making and allowed for the new sounds to become an organic and necessary part of their working methods. As a result, Palm Fronds sounds something like Smog produced by Lee "Scratch" Perry and remixed by Fennesz or Pole.
Jesus Lizard - Head + Pure (1992)
The place to start for those new to the Jesus Lizard, this two-fer collects on one CD the first EP release (Pure) and first LP release (Head) of the notorious '90s noise rock band. It does a fine job of completing the picture of the band's early work.
Nirvana - Sliver: The Best of the Box (1985-1994)
Appearing a year after the long-awaited three-disc With the Lights Out, which was supposed to be a clearinghouse for all existing Nirvana demos and rarities, Sliver: The Best of the Box is a single-disc compilation of highlights from that set. Of course, a comp like this needs to have collector bait in order to guarantee interest from the die-hard fans, so in addition to 19 previously released cuts, this has three previously unreleased tracks, most noteworthy being the 1985 demo of "Spank Thru," recorded when Kurt Cobain's band was called Fecal Matter. The other two songs are a 1990 studio demo of "Sappy," the song first released under the title "Verse Chorus Verse" on the No Alternative various-artists album, and a "Boom Box Version" of "Come as You Are," which is a taped rehearsal take of the song recorded before Nevermind. All three of these would have fit nicely on the box (and arguably should have been there, especially "Spank Thru," which is the best of the earliest Nirvana-related recordings), and for obsessives, they're enough to warrant a grudging, hesitant purchase. The real question is, whether Sliver is worthwhile for serious fans who nevertheless for whatever reason don't want three discs of demos and outtakes. The answer is: kinda. Most of the major songs from With the Lights Out are here, but not all of them. What's missing are outtakes like "Verse Chorus Verse" (a different song than "Sappy"), B-sides like "Curmudgeon," and non-LP cuts like "I Hate Myself and I Want to Die." While it's understandable that a weird novelty like "Beans" wouldn't make the cut, the absence of these three cuts mean this comp does fall short of its billing as being "The Best of the Box," and it also makes it of less interest to fans who just want all the truly noteworthy cuts from the box. That said, this does have such great items as the outtake "Old Age," the non-LP single "Oh the Guilt," and a demo of Leadbelly's "Ain't It a Shame," plus acoustic demos of Cobain's last two songs, "Do Re Mi" and "You Know You're Right," which is enough to satisfy the curiosity of most listeners. But it has to be said that due to its source material of home recordings and lo-fi tapes, Sliver, like With the Lights Out, is not easy listening and demands listeners' utmost attention — and if listeners are willing to concentrate that hard on Nirvana rarities, they'd probably be better off getting three discs of the stuff instead of just one.
Emeralds - S/T 12" (2009)
Four brand spankin' new tracks from one of the most exciting up and coming bands. This release continues the fascination with expanding on the kraut rock musical template laid out by bands like Cluster and Ash Ra Tempel throwing in some pretty obvious Terry Riley influences for good measure. Highly recommended.
Palace Music - Arise, Therefore (1996)
Once again, Will Oldham emerges out of the murky, Midwestern haze with another helping of lovely, low-key musings on his fourth full-length album, Arise, Therefore, this time recorded under the name Palace Music (previously Palace Brothers, Palace Songs, or just plain Palace). Much quieter than Viva Last Blues and less-Appalachian in its folk spirit than Palace's earlier music, the songs on Arise, Therefore shift and moan with breathy cracks and shivers; Oldham's meandering, poet-speak vocals; and guitar accompanied by his brother, Ned's bass, David Grubbs' piano, and (surprise!) a Maya Tone drum machine. The lyrics (included for the first time) are beautiful in their stark, pale honesty as often as they are indecipherable. "I watch things painted on public walls/Now but I see other things as well/Behind but right f*ck in front of my spirit is how the real road's laid out in a line," he sings on "Kid of Harith." Don't ask for an interpretation: It will come with time, or it won't.
Tall Dwarfs - Hello Cruel World (1987)
Leaving the bulk of their catalog to the Flying Nun label, Tall Dwarfs have found another friend in the Homstead imprint for releasing this excellent collection of tracks from a handful of the group's rare EP's. The New Zealand lo-fi innovators are certainly well-represented with these 22 varied and top-notch sides from the first half of the '80s. With plenty of deft guitar, organ, and handclapping work to go around, fans new to Hello Cruel World will soon understand why it gave the Dwarfs their widest audience after being released in the late '80s.
Sun Ra - Angels & Demons at Play/The Nubians of Plutonia (1956-1960)
Sun Ra ambles between vigorous hard bop, ambitious, adventurous free jazz, and African and Afro-Latin material on the 15 selections featured on this set of '50s and early '60s tracks. The first half was recorded in 1956 and 1960 and includes originals from Ronnie Boykins and Julian Priester, plus futuristic organ from Ra on "Music From the World Tomorrow" and hard-blowing solos from John Gilmore and Marshall Allen. The second half consists of rehearsal tapes from 1960 with The Arkestra steadily progressing and moving beyond conventional jazz modes into multiple rhythms, chants, and twisting, roaring arrangements spiced by vividly expressive solos. Plus, like every other disc in the series, it is superbly remastered.
Sonic Youth - SYR 4 (1999)
As a farewell to a century of musical innovation, Sonic Youth devote a double album to covering legendary avant-garde recordings such as John Cage's "Six," James Tenney's "Having Never Written a Note for Percussion," and Christian Wolff's "Edges." As a further token of gratitude, Sonic Youth had other avant-garde musicians such as William Winant collaborate with them on these covers. The result is a minimal album of silence occasionally interrupted by strange dissonance that quietly reaps noisy havoc on your mind. The many collaborators make Goodbye 20th Century a curious listen -- certainly not your standard Sonic Youth album. Actually, it's not too far removed from the other SYR EPs, especially in terms of production sound. But anyone looking for standard fare here is going to be greatly disappointed. These aren't songs -- they're compositions and they're performed as such. Alt-rock this is not.
